Pravat Kumar Mandal, PhD, joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery as a research assistant professor in September of 2024. He received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai, India in 1995.
Dr. Mandal is a Tata Innovation Fellow and has developed the Indian Brain Template BRAHMA, the big data analytics BHARAT, and the brain imaging-based database and data analytics SWADESH. He has worked on medical image analysis and developed novel technology for brain neurochemical signal processing. He has one patent granted by the United States Patent Office as well as the European Union Patent office.
The seminal work of Dr. Mandal is the identification of glutathione depletion in the hippocampus as an early diagnostic biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease. He also identified biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease patients by noninvasive imaging technique to map iron and glutathione.
Dr. Mandal’s major research areas include brain neurochemical profile; brain iron mapping and clinical correlation; healthy aging marker; mild cognitive impairment; Alzheimer’s disease; brain trauma and repetitive head injury; and Parkinson’s disease.
For a list of Dr. Mandal's publications, please visit Google Scholar.
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Professional Organization Membership
Education & Training
- BSc (Hon), Burdwan University, 1985
- MSc, Chemistry (Hons), Physics, Mathematics, Burdwan University, 1988
- PhD, Indian Institute of Technology, 1995
Honors & Awards
- Global Artificial Intelligence Award, All India Council for Robotics & Automation, 2019
Research Activities
Dr. Mandal is conducting research on the impact of oxidative stress on repetitive brain impacts (RBI) and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Oxidative stress is caused due to the imbalance in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the impaired ability of the biological system’s inability to detoxify ROS resulting in neuronal damage. In this context, the role of the master antioxidant glutathione (GSH), and prooxidant (iron) is paramount for the understanding of the molecular cause of RBI, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) research, along with susceptibility mapping, have reported significant depletion of GSH and elevation of iron in the hippocampus (for Alzheimer’s) and in the substantia niagra (for Parkinson’s).
Brain GSH enrichment is a potent strategy for halting these diseases. Based on Dr. Mandal’s ongoing clinical research, he has initiated clinical trials involving GSH enrichment through oral supplementation of gamma glutamylcysteine (GGC). GGC is the precursor of GSH.
Currently, Dr. Mandal is conducting two clinical trials, 1) Patients with Repetitive Head Impact Orally Supplemented with Gamma glutamylcysteine: An Open Label Trial with MR Spectroscopy and Neuropsychological Testing, and 2) Enrichment of Glutathione Using Gamma-Glutamylcysteine Supplementationin in Parkinson’s Disease Patients.