Balaji Krishnan, PhD

University of Texas Medical Branch

Dr. Balaji Krishnan, MSc in Molecular Biology/Physics (University of Mumbai) and PhD in Biology (University of Houston), is an Associate Professor at UTMB's Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases. The Krishnan Lab is interested in understanding memory mechanisms, with a particular expertise on synaptic mechanisms in Alzheimer's and related dementias using electrophysiology, and behavior in Drosophila rodent models, and validation of molecular approaches in human clinical samples. His key contributions include adapting FASS-LTP for postmortem brain functional assays and discovering Phospholipase D's (PLD) role in health and disease. Dr. Krishnan's Alzheimer's research is funded by the Alzheimer's Association Research Grant as well as the National Institutes on Aging. He has served as an academic editor for Springer and Frontiers, and has a long-standing experience as reviewer for grants and papers in high-impact journals including Nature, Neuron, Journal of Neuroscience, and Journal of Neurophysiology.  His research on synaptic integrity in cognitively intact individuals with high Alzheimer's neuropathology received the 2021 Alzheimer Award, which recognizes the article published during the previous year that has had the most significant impact on Alzheimer’s disease research.