Nawajes Mandal, PhD is a Professor (with tenure) in the Departments of  Ophthalmology, Anatomy and Neurobiology, and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), Memphis, TN. He serves as the Assistant Director of Research, Hamilton Eye Institute,  UTHSC, and is also associated with Memphis Veteran Administration Medical Center (VAMC) as a Research Health Scientist. Dr. Mandal earned his PhD Biochemistry from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, in 2001. His postdoctoral training was at the Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Mandal started his independent career as a Research Instructor at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Dean McGee Eye Institute, Oklahoma City, OK, in 2006 and rose to the rank of tenure-track Associate Professor in 2016. The same year, he moved to Hamilton Eye Institute, UTHSC, as an Associate Professor.

The major focus of Dr. Mandal’s current research is investigating the role of signaling lipids, especially sphingolipids and bioactive n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-derived lipids, in human eye diseases, diabetes, and other inflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions. Lipid/ Sphingolipid signaling is complex, and the scope of the sphingolipid system’s impact on mammalian biology has proven to be impressive, and its role in human diseases associated with inflammation, neovascularization, tumorigenesis, and diabetes has begun to be understood. Dr. Mandal’s lab is the pioneer in establishing the role of sphingolipids in ocular diseases, and his lab is one of the few in the United States that has expertise in bioactive lipid signaling in various eye diseases. He is a Gold Medalist for his undergraduate degree; received Research to Prevent Blindness Inc.’s Special Scholar Award; published > 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and >100 conference abstracts. His research studies have been continuously funded for the last 15 years by NIH, US Dept. of VA, US Dept. of Defense, and various foundations that amounted to an impressive figure of >10 million dollars in extramural funding. Dr. Mandal’s current funding included an NEI/NIH R01, 2 supplements to the parent R01, a DOD VRP grant, a VA BLR&D MERIT award, and an NIDDK/NIH R01. Dr. Mandal organized many meetings and symposia at international conferences, served as reviewer and editor of peer-reviewed international journals, and ad-hoc reviewer for grant applications. He teaches Medical and Graduate students in the classroom and mentored > 40 graduate and undergraduate medical students and residents for their research. Dr. Mandal also actively serves in various committees in UTHSC, including being a member of the IACUC committee and served as the Chair of the Faculty Senate Faculty Affairs Committee.