Natasha Zachara Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Natasha E. Zachara Ph.D., Associate Professor. Dr. Zachara received her B. Tech (Biotechnology) with Honors (1st Class) and her Ph.D. at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). Her dissertation was completed under the guidance of Dr. Nicolle Packer, Dr. Andrew Gooley and Professor Keith L. Williams, and focused on developing new technologies to map and quantify site-specific changes in protein glycosylation. Her post-doctoral work was completed at the Johns Hopkins University with Professor Gerald W. Hart. During her fellowship she identified a role for O-GlcNAc in regulating the cellular stress response. Her laboratory is focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms by which O-GlcNAc prevents cytotoxicity, determining how cells modulate O-GlcNAc levels during times of stress, and how the O-GlcNAc mediated stress response can be harnessed to reduce tissue death in models of injury. Contact:
[email protected], Phone: 410 955 7049.
Akanksha Aggarwal, Graduate Student (GPBC)
Akanksha completed her undergraduate studies (B. Tech) at Delhi Technological University (Delhi, India), before graduating from Johns Hopkins with a Masters in Biotechnology. Using biochemical and proteomics approaches, as well as animal models, she is studying how nutrition impacts the regulation of the enzymes that add and remove O-GlcNAc, OGT and OGA, as well as flux through the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway. Phone: 410 502 3210.
Fiddia Zahra, Graduate Student (GPBC)
Fiddia completed her undergraduate studies (B.Sc) at DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois) before graduating from Johns Hopkins with a Masters in Bioinformatics. Her work uses proteomics and bioinformatics approaches, as well as the Langendorff isolated heart perfusion model, to highlight key regulators of OGT in the ischemic heart. Phone: 410 502 3210.
