The Thakur Neurodegeneration Lab is located at IISER-Thiruvananthapuram. Our campus is nestled in the lush green forests of the Western Ghats. We investigate how metabolic diseases and molecular changes contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease, with the goal of discovering mechanisms and developing therapeutic strategies.

Major research projects in the lab focus on

a) Developing better mouse models of PD and utilizing them to decipher the disease mechanisms

b) Developing therapeutics and neuroprotective agents for PD

c) Understand the impact of metabolic disturbances, such as Diabetes, on PD

d) Impact of cell biological processes such as lipid alterations, post-translational modifications, and neuroinflammation on PD progression

While no approaches are out of bounds to achieve these goals, core experimental tools used in the lab are stereotaxic surgery, behavioral analysis, histology, and molecular biology. We are also expanding into machine learning, AI and data science. 

Recent Publications

• Rajan A, et al. Glycated Alpha-Synuclein Assemblies Cause Distinct Parkinson’s Disease Pathogenesis in Mice. ACS Chem Neurosci, 2025.

• Subramanya SK et al. A Novel Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease for Investigating Progressive Pathology and Neuroprotection. bioRxiv, 2025. 

Recent Highlights 

• Poonam Thakur won the Impact Award from Parkinson's Foundation USA (jointly with Kaue Costa from the University of Alabama, USA)

• Poonam Thakur was featured in the Meet the Researcher series by Cure Parkinson's Trust, UK 

Join Us

We are always interested in motivated students and researchers. PhD intake for January 2026 will open soon. Email us for preliminary inquiries. Check here for other open positions. 

Funding

The lab is funded by grants from Parkinson's Foundation USA, DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance, Cure Parkinson's Trust UK, SERB, IndiaBiosciences, and IISER-Thiruvananthapuram intramural funds.