Mohan Krishnan, Ph.D.

Dr. Mohan Krishnan, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Immunology, and Molecular Biology and is an investigator in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center.  Dr. Krishnan obtained his PhD degree from University of Madras, India.  He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.  He became a faculty member at the University of South Florida and moved to Johns Hopkins University, then held a tenure associate professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center before joining UTSW.

The Krishnan lab investigates the pathophysiology of Transfusion-associated Necrotizing Enterocolitis (TA-NEC), Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS), and Neurodevelopmental outcomes in premature infants who are at high risk of anemia and heavily transfused.  The lab research mainly focused on understanding the inflammatory mechanisms of Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), specifically the subset of disease associated with red blood cell transfusions (TANEC). His cross-training in Biochemistry, Biotechnology, and Molecular Biology places him in a small group of researchers capable of elucidating the cellular and immunological events associated with NEC, SIRS, and neuroinflammation. Since his postdoctoral training, he has delved deeply into NEC and has successfully characterized both the cellular mechanisms of NEC as well as inciting factors, both chemical and immunological. His seminal contribution includes the development of a highly innovative murine model of NEC caused by the administration of blood transfusions to phlebotomy-induced murine anemic pups, with resulting injury correlating to the severity and duration of the underlying anemia.  Using this first pre-clinical model of TANEC, he has addressed longstanding controversies by untangling the individual contributions to injury from anemia versus its treatment, the subsequent transfusion. This high-caliber murine model sets the foundation for future rigorous evaluations of TANEC, particularly regarding immunological changes in the intestine that predispose to mucosal injury.  In addition, he is extending research studies focusing on the mechanism(s) involved in transfusion-related neurodevelopmental deficits and systemic inflammatory response syndrome in premature infants