Top image: Preparing for a recital, Columbia, SC 

IN THE WORKS 

  • Harrison, M, Tran DN,  Pena A, Iyengar S,  Abubakar AA, Hoernke K, John-Akinola YO, Kiplagat S, Marconi AM,  Vaghaiwalla TN,  Kalbarczyk A, Weinberg JL. Strategies to improve women's leadership preparation for early-career global health professionals: suggestions from two working groups. Submitted to: Annals of Global Health. 
  • Policy brief with Gender Equity Hub under the WHO Global Health Workforce Network, I contributed to a policy action paper on gender equity and occupational segregation in the global health and care workforce. 

PUBLISHED ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS 

  • (Policy brief): Mental health as a matter of rights.
    • Authors: Ali Hasnain, James Sale, Sarah Kline
    • Advisors: Shekhar Saxena, Charlene Sunkel, Kay Lankreijer, Peter Bedimak Yaro, Shayni Geffen, Sloka Iyengar, Laure Mourgue d’Algue. 
    • ​Summary: In this policy brief with United for Global Mental Health (the Global Mental Health Action Network Universal healthcare Working Group), we write on the theme that every person has the right to the highest attainable level of mental health and the right to make their own decisions. We talk about mental health as a human rights issue and make a case for it being included in universal healthcare plans. 
  • ​Iyengar S, Hosur CR, Thakkar M, Mehta D, Kotak V. Reflections on Bharatanatyam and Neuroscience. A Dance Studies Perspective. International Review of Social Research 2021; 11(1): doi: 10.48154/irsr.2021.0027. Link here. 
    • Summary: Building on recent interest in the convergence of arts and sciences, we propose specific areas of intersection between the disciplines of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance, and neuroscience. We present personal reflections by practitioners of both disciplines and propose that Bharatanatyam can be used to understand and explain brain functioning and that neuroscience can help analyze the dancing Bharatanatyam brain. We explore conceptual areas of convergence between the two fields as well as specific points of connection using language acquisition, rhythm, music, and cognition as examples. We conjecture that Bharatanatyam training and practice support long-term neuronal plasticity in various parts of the brain, including but not limited to the hippocampus, motor, premotor cortex, and the cerebellum. The beginning of the study of the intersection between these disciplines will pave the way for additional allied fields of rich thinking, exploration and potentially, therapy. 
  • Thippaiah SM, Pradhan B, Voyiaziakis E, Iyengar S, Carol O, Tang Y. Possible role of Parvalbumin interneurons in meditation and psychiatric illness. Accepted in Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. 
  • (Book chapter) Iyengar SS. Urban Health for the Aging Population in the United States. In Urban Health: Emerging Public Health Perspectives. Edited by Edmond Fernandes and Indu Grewal. A link to the book is here, and abstract is below. 
    • Summary: Seniors comprise a diverse age group, with large variability in ability, function, income, and past experiences. The United States (US) is a country which is rapidly aging and consists of specific elderly population that are vulnerable. While there are many health challenges faced by seniors (like deterioration of biological and mental health, decrease in visual acuity, and dementia) which are seen across the world, many issues are specific to the US. The physiological consequences of aging are exacerbated by the increase in life expectancy, lack of universal health care, and a lack of safety net in the US. These effects influence the large proportion of the country's aged living in poverty in distinct and harmful ways. This chapter highlights the policies and laws in place to protect the health and human rights of seniors in the US and summarizes gaps in this field ranging from programmatic areas to cultural barriers in the form of ageism and stigma. We describe healthy aging, the domains of healthy aging in an urban setting in the US, and ways to achieve healthy aging for all. 
  • Martin M, Chaverneff F, Iyengar S, and Gregorian OP. Understanding and Meeting the Challenges of Displaced Scientists in the 21st Century. Science and Diplomacy. August 2021. Link here. 
    • Summary:  Recent years have seen an increase in the number of scientists displaced by persecution or political turmoil. In seeking to maintain their scientific careers, either to rebuild their country’s scientific capacity upon their return or to establish themselves in their new countries, these displaced scientists face a range of challenges. An organized response to meet these challenges will benefit their host countries while preserving scientific capacity for their home countries. In this article, we talk about our work with the Scholar Rescue Fund as well as what the wider scientific, academic, and diplomatic communities can do to support displaced scientists.  
  • Iyengar S, Kantor K, Cyriac S, Remadevi K, Usha V, Robinson S, Rani A, Rajagopal MR, Broderick A. No family should suffer from cervical cancer twice - the palliative care role in HPV prevention. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Jul 10:S0885-3924(21)00420-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.06.022. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34256090. Link here. 
    • Summary: Cervical cancer, caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, is the source of significant personal and societal burden, and robs more than one hundred thousand Indian women and their families of the chances of a healthy and productive life each year. As outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), the three-pronged approach of screening, vaccination, and reduction in mortality by early treatment presents the possibility of the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem in the next decade. Unfortunately, these approaches are all associated with significant barriers in India. In this paper, we suggest that offering prevention strategies for HPV aligns with the idea of preventing suffering and is within the scope of palliative care clinicians.
  • Thippaiah SM, Iyengar S, and Yaragudri VK. Exo- and endocannabinoids in depressive and suicidal behaviors. Front. Psychiatry. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.636228. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: Cannabis (marijuana) has been known to humans for thousands of years but its neurophysiological effects were sparsely understood until recently. A dysfunction in the endocannabinoid system, located in brain regions such as prefrontal cortex and limbic structures is implicated in mood regulation, impulsivity and decision-making, may increase the risk of negative mood and cognition as well as suicidality. The literature discussed in this paper suggests that the endocannabinoid system may be a viable target for treatments of these neuropsychiatric conditions. 
  • The CURE Infantile Spasms Consortium, Lubbers L, Iyengar S. A Team Science Approach to Discover Novel Targets for Infantile Spasms (IS). Epilepsia Open. 2020. doi: 10.1002/epi4.12441. Link here. 
    • Summary: Infantile spasms (IS) is a devastating epilepsy syndrome that typically begins in the first year of life. Symptoms consist of stereotypical spasms, developmental delay, and electroencephalogram (EEG) that may demonstrate Hypsarhythmia. Current therapeutic approaches are not always effective, and there is no reliable way to predict which patient will respond to therapy. Given this disorder's complexity and the potential impact of a disease‐modifying approach, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) employed a “team science” approach to advance the understanding of IS pathology and explore therapeutic modalities that might lead to the development of new ways to potentially prevent spasms and Hypsarhythmia. This approach was a first‐of‐its‐kind collaborative initiative in epilepsy. The IS initiative funded 8 investigative teams over the course of 1‐3 years. Projects included the following: discovery on the basic biology of IS, discovery of novel therapeutic targets, cross‐validation of targets, discovery of biomarkers, and prognosis and treatment of IS. 
  • Kingeter AK, Raghunathan K, Munson SH, Hayashida DK, Zhang X, Iyengar S, Bunke M, Shaw AD. Association between albumin administration and survival in cardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort study. Can J Anaesth. 2018. 65(11):1218-1227. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: Albumin is widely used during and after on-pump cardiac surgery, although it is unclear whether this therapy improves clinical outcomes. In this large retrospective study, we found that  5% albumin solution was associated with significantly decreased odds of in-hospital mortality and all-cause 30-day readmission rate compared with administration of crystalloids alone in adult patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery. These results warrant further studies to examine fluid receipt, including 5% albumin, in surgical populations via randomized-controlled trials.
  • Shaw AD, Mythen MG, Shook D, Hayashida DK, Zhang X, Skaar JR, Iyengar S, Munson SH. Pulmonary artery catheter use in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a retrospective, cohort study. Perioper Med (Lond). 2018; 7:24. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: The utility of pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) and their measurements depend on a variety of factors including data interpretation and personnel training. This US multi-center, retrospective electronic health record (EHR) database analysis was performed to identify associations between PAC use in adult cardiac surgeries and effects on subsequent clinical outcomes. We found that the use of a PAC during adult cardiac surgery is associated with decreased length of stay, reduced cardiopulmonary morbidity, and increased infectious morbidity but no increase in the 30-day in-hospital mortality. This suggests an overall potential benefit associated with PAC-based monitoring in this population.
  • Simonato M, Iyengar S, Brooks-Kayal A, Collins S, Depaulis A, Howells DW, Jensen F, Liao J, Macleod MR, Patel M, Potschka H, Walker M, Whittemore V, Sena ES. Identification and characterization of outcome measures reported in animal models of epilepsy: Protocol for a systematic review of the literature - a TASK2 report of the AES/ILAE Translational Task force of the ILAE. Epilepsia. 2017; 58 Suppl 4:68-77. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: The specific goals of this study are to define systematically the phenotypic characteristics of the most commonly used animal models, and to effectively compare these with the manifestations of human epilepsy. This will provide epilepsy researchers with detailed information on the strengths and weaknesses of epilepsy models, facilitating their refinement and future research. Ultimately, this could lead to a refined use of relevant models for understanding the mechanism(s) of the epilepsies and developing novel therapies.
  • Lancman ME, Fertig EJ, Trobliger RW, Perrine K, Myers L, Iyengar S, Malik M. The effects of lacosamide on cognition, quality-of-life measures, and quality of life in patients with refractory partial epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2016; 61:27-33. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: The objective of this study was to examine cognitive and quality-of-life measures/quality of life outcomes with adjunctive lacosamide therapy in patients with treatment-resistant partial epilepsy. Lacosamide appeared to have low risks of significant changes in cognition or mood/quality of life. In addition, the present study supports prior studies that have proven lacosamide as an effective adjunctive therapy for the treatment of resistant partial epilepsy.
  • Marks A, Iyengar S. Improving cancer patients' access to precision medicines. Institute for Patient Access. 2016. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: We propose that precision diagnostics offer unparalleled potential for the treatment of cancer, but certain barriers prevent patient access. Healthcare professionals, regulatory bodies, patient advocacy groups, insurers and other stakeholders must unite to ensure that cancer patients can benefit from these breakthrough technologies. Education programs for healthcare professionals, an updated paradigm for regulatory oversight and a restructured healthcare coverage approach will ensure that cancer patients can access precision medicine
  • Iyengar S. Reactive Astrogliosis in Epilepsy - Passive bystandars no more. Journal of Neurology and Stroke, 5 (4). Link here. 
    • Summary: I review a paper where the authors examined whether reactive astrogliosis by itself was sufficient to cause epilepsy, and if so, what are the underlying mechanisms 
  • Iyengar S, LaFrancois JJ, Friedman D, Drew LJ, Denny CA, Burghardt NS, Wu MV, Hsieh J, Hen R, Scharfman HE. Suppression of adult neurogenesis increases the acute effects of kainic acid. Exp Neurol. 2015. 264:135-49. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: Adult neurogenesis, the generation of new neurons in the adult brain, occurs in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) and the olfactory bulb (OB) of all mammals, but the functions of these new neurons are not entirely clear. Originally, adult-born neurons were considered to have excitatory effects on the DG network, but recent studies suggest a net inhibitory effect. Therefore, we hypothesized that selective removal of newborn neurons would lead to increased susceptibility to the effects of a convulsant. Our data support the hypothesis that reduction of adult-born neurons increases the susceptibility of the brain to effects of the convulsant kainic acid.
  • Pearce PS, Friedman D, Lafrancois JJ, Iyengar S, Fenton AA, Maclusky NJ, Scharfman HE. Spike-wave discharges in adult Sprague-Dawley rats and their implications for animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav. 2014. 32:121-31. Link here. 
    • ​Summary: Spike-wave discharges (SWDs) are thalamocortical oscillations that are often considered to be the EEG correlate of absence seizures. In this paper, we discuss the implications of the results and ways to avoid the potential problems associated with SWDs in animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).
  • Iyengar S, Mott D. Neuregulin blocks synaptic strengthening after epileptiform activity in the rat hippocampus. Brain Res. 2008.1208:67-73. Link here. 
  • ​Synaptic strengthening produced by epileptiform activity may contribute to seizure progression and cognitive impairment in epilepsy. Agents that limit this form of plasticity may have therapeutic benefit. A role for neuregulin in epilepsy has not been explored. We show that by opposing synaptic strengthening caused by epileptiform activity, neuregulin may reduce the generation and spread of seizures as well as memory deficits associated with epilepsy.
Last updated: January 13, 2022
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