Rama Natarajan, Ph.D.

[email protected]
626-218-2289
Rama Natarajan, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute
Clinical Expertise
  • Diabetes
Research Area
  • Diabetic Complications
Academic Appointments
  • Professor and Chair, Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism
  • National Business Products Industry Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research
Research Teams
Diabetes Complications and Metabolism
Rama Natarajan, Ph.D., is a leader in the field of diabetes-related vascular complications and a pioneer in diabetes epigenetics. She was among the first to discover the role of epigenetic changes and noncoding RNAs in promoting diabetic micro- and macrovascular complications. Her team identified specific chromatin histone post-translational modifications and DNA methylations that drive inflammatory and fibrotic genes in diabetes. Her studies in this area provided clinical evidence that persistent epigenetic changes are associated with the phenomenon of “metabolic memory,” in which periods of prior high blood sugar levels predispose diabetic patients to long-term vascular complications, despite subsequent optimum glucose control. These findings have led to a new appreciation of the connections between glycemic history, epigenetics, metabolic memory and diabetic vasculopathy. Natarajan also evaluates translational approaches targeting epigenetic changes and non-coding RNAs for the treatment of diabetic complications. She has published over 220 papers (H index 95) and has received numerous awards. Her studies have been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for 30 years.

Natarajan is a faculty member of the Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences and active in teaching, mentoring and training graduate students, fellows and faculty. Currently, Natarajan is professor and chair of the Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism within the Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute and Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope National Medical Center. She also holds the National Business Products Industry Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research.

As a member of the leadership Committee for the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Council of the American Heart Association, Natarajan has supported and continues to promote the advancement of junior researchers in vascular sciences.  She is also very active in leadership committees with the American Diabetes Association.

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees

  • 1973-1977, Ph.D. in biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, India

Fellowship

  • 1980-1986, NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California Medical School, Los Angeles, CA

  • 1979-1980, Scientific Research Council Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Applied Chemistry, Salford University, England, U.K.

  • 1977-1979, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Science and Technology Fellowship, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Professional Experience

  • 2014-present, Professor and Chair, Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope

  • 2011-present, National Business Products Industry Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research, Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute at City of Hope

  • 2002-present, Professor, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Research, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope

  • 2011-2014, Associate Chair, Department of Diabetes, Director, Division of Molecular Diabetes Research, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope

  • 1996-2001, Associate Professor, Dept of Diabetes, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA

  • 1990-1996, Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Diabetes, City of Hope

  • 1987-1990, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California Medical School

Awards & Memberships

Awards (Partial List)

  • 2022, Arti Hurria Research Mentor of the Year Award, City of Hope

  • 2021, American Heart Association ATVB Council 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award

  • 2021, Distinguished Scientist Award, American Heart Association ATVB Council

  • 2020, Edwin Bierman Award, from the American Diabetes Association

  • 2020, AAAS Fellow, Elected by Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

  • 2016, Values in Action Award, City of Hope

  • 2014, Distinguished Top Reviewer, DIABETES (journal)

  • 2013, Distinguished Top Reviewer, DIABETES (journal)

  • 2013, ATVB (Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biol) Journal Award for Top 10 reviewers

  • 2012, 20th Robert R. Kohn Memorial Lecture, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland Ohio

  • 2012, Kroc Lectureship, Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology and Medicine

  • 2012, Lead organizer, Keystone Meeting on Diabetic Complications, Boston, MA

  • 2012, Star Reviewer, American Physiological Society Journals Publications

  • 2011, Mentor of Women Award, ATVB Council of The American Heart Association, Chicago

  • 2011, National Business Products Industries Endowed Professor, Beckman Research Institut, City of Hope

  • 2011, Plenary Speaker, Korean Society of Nephrology 31st Annual Meeting, Seoul, Korea

  • 2011, City of Hope Leadership Academy

  • 2010, Barry M Brenner Endowed Lecture, American Society of Nephrology, Denver Co

  • 2011, Inducted to the Scientific Research Achievements Gallery of Portraits, City of Hope

  • 2010, Annual Henry Turner Memorial Lecture and Distinguished Professor, University of Oklahoma, Dept of Internal Medicine, Oklahoma City

Memberships

  • 2020, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Elected Fellow

  • 2017-present, Editorial Board, Vascular Pharmacology

  • 2014-present, Editorial Board, Journal of American Society of Nephrology

  • 2011-present, Editorial Board, Physiological Genomics

  • 2009-present, Editorial Board, Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research

  • 2007-present, Editorial Board, American Journal of Physiology, Renal Physiology

  • 2003-present, Editorial Board, Kidney International

  • 2007-2009, 2012-2014, 2017-present, Editorial Board, DIABETES

  • 2005-2011, Editorial Board, J. Lipid Research

  • American Heart Association: Elected Fellow of the Council for Atherosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB)

  • American Diabetes Association

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

  • American Society of Nephrology (Elected Fellow)

  • International Society of Nephrology

  • North American Vascular Biology Organization (Member of Membership and Awards Committees)

  • Grant Review Committee Memberships and Other National/International Committees

Publications

Partial list; for full list use link below:

  • Chen Z, Satake E, Pezzolesi MG, Dom ZIM, Stucki D, Kobayashi H, Syreeni A, Johnson AT,  Wu X, Dahlström EH, King JB, Groop P-H, Sandholm N, Krolewski AS, Natarajan R. (2024) Integrated analysis of blood DNA methylation, genetic variants, circulating proteins, microRNAs and kidney failure in type 1 diabetes. Sci Transl Med. 2024 May 22;16(748):eadj3385. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj3385. Epub 2024 May 22. PMID: 38776390
  • Mitsuo Kato, Maryam Abdollahi, Keiko Omori, Vajir Malek, Linda Lanting, Fouad Kandeel, Jeffrey Rawson, Walter Tsark, Lingxiao Zhang, Mei Wang, Ragadeepthi Tunduguru, and Rama Natarajan. (2024) Lowering an ER-stress-regulated long noncoding RNA protects mice from diabetes and isolated pancreatic islets from cell death. Mol Therapy Nucleic Acids (MTNA) Jun 15;35(3):102252. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102252.) PMID: 39071954
  • Tanwar VS, Reddy MA, Das S, Samara VA, Abdollahi M, Dey S, Ganguly R, Stapleton K, Lanting L, Pirrotte P and Natarajan R*. (2023) Palmitic acid induced lncRNA PARAIL regulates inflammation resolution via interaction with Human Antigen R protein in monocytes and macrophages. ATVB  2023 Jul;43(7):1157-1175. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.318536. Epub 2023 Apr 27PMID: 37128912. Accompanied by an editorial PMCID: PMC10287039
  • Mitsuo Kato, Zhuo Chen, Sadhan Das, Xiwei Wu, Jinhui Wang, Arthur Li, Wei Chen, Walter Tsark, Ragadeepthi Tunduguru, Linda Lanting, Mei Wang, Roger Moore, Markus Kalkum, Maryam Abdollahi, and Rama Natarajan. (2023) Long noncoding RNA lncMGC mediates the expression of TGF-β-induced genes in renal cells via nucleosome remodelers. Front Mol Biosci. 2023 May 30;10:1204124. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1204124. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37325470
  • Eryun Zhang, Lihua Jin, Yangmeng Wang, Jui Tu, Ruirong Zheng, Lili Ding, Zhipeng Fang, Mingjie Fan, Is-mail Al-Abdullah, Rama Natarajan, Ke Ma, Zhengtao Wang, Arthur Riggs, Sarah Shuck, Li Yang*, Wendong Huang*. (2022) Intestinal AMPK modulation of microbiota mediates cross-talk with brown fat to control thermogenesis. Nature Communications 2022;13(1):1135. PMID: 35241650; PMCID: PMC8894485.
  • Maryam Abdollahi, Mitsuo Kato, Lanting L, Mei Wang, Ragadeepthi Tunduguru, Qiong Wang, Yangmeng Wang, Wendong Huang and Natarajan R. (2022) miR-379 mediates insulin resistance and obesity through impaired angiogenesis and adipogenesis regulated by ER stressMTNA (Molecular Therapy, Nucleic Acids ) 2022;30:115-30. PMID: 36250205 PMCID: PMC9535382
  • Reddy MA, Amaram V, Das S, Tanwar VS, Ganguly R, Wang M, Lanting L, Zhang L, Abdollahi M, Chen Z, Wu X, Devaraj S and Natarajan R. (2021) LncRNA DRAIR is downregulated in diabetic monocytes and modulates inflammatory phenotype via epigenetic mechanisms. JCI Insight, doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.143289. 2021 Jun 8;6(11):e143289. PMID: 33945509
  • Chen Z, Miao F, Braffett BH, Lachin JM, Zhang L,  Wu X, Carless M, Li XA, Tompkins JD, Kaddis J, Riggs AD, Paterson AD, DCCT/EDIC Study Group, Natarajan R. (2020). DNA methylation mediates HbA1c-associated complication development in Type1 diabetes. Nature Metabolism. 2020 Aug;2(8):744-762. doi: 10.1038/s42255-020-0231-8. PMID: 32694834

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