Dr. Kanakeswary Krishnan

About Me:

Dr Kana Krishnan is a Senior Lecturer in Physiology at PU-RCSI. Previously, she was an academician at the School of Pharmacy, International Medical University. Dr Kana holds a Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science) from University Putra Malaysia, a Masters of Medical Science (MMedSc) from International Medical University and a PhD (Physiology) from the University of Western Australia. Her PhD research investigated the effect of antenatal inflammation and the timing of the inflammatory insult on the metabolic, functional and structural phenotype of the fetal and newborn diaphragm. In addition, potential treatments to ameliorate the severity of diaphragm dysfunction that contributes to respiratory failure were evaluated. Research techniques mastered include lamb post-mortem and tissue sampling, muscle contractile measurements using in-vitro muscle test system and skin fibre pCa force analysis, RT-qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, myosin isoform typing, ELISA and biochemical assays, cell (stem cells, cancer cells and myocyte) culture methods.

Research Interests

1. a)    Keywords: skeletal muscle inflammation, anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents
2. b)    Dr Kana’s research interest includes muscle physiology and identification of novel therapeutic agents for muscle inflammation, cancer cachexia and myopathies. She is also involved in research collaboration with the University of Western Australia and the International Medical University in the following areas: Preterm diaphragm muscle functions and muscle anti-inflammatory therapeutics discovery. Dr. Kana is also involved in medical education research in the subject area of prescribing readiness of medical graduates in Malaysia. Other community based research includes obesity, diet, physical inactivity and non-communicable diseases.

Clubs and Associations:

Malaysian Society for Pharmacology and Physiology (Member).

Publications:

1. Mahzabin T, Pillow JJ, Pinniger GJ, Bakker AJ, Noble PB, White RB, Karisnan K, Song Y. Influence of antenatal glucocorticoid on preterm lamb diaphragm. Pediatr Res. 2017 Sep;82(3):509-517:10.1038/pr.2017.99. Epub 2017 May 17.
2. Karisnan K, Bakker AJ, Song Y, Noble PB, Pillow JJ, Pinniger GJ. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protects against lipopolysaccharide induced diaphragm weakness in preterm lambs. PLoS One. 2015;10(4):e0124390.
3. Karisnan K, Bakker AJ, Song Y, Noble PB, Pillow JJ, Pinniger GJ. Gestational age at initial exposure to in utero inflammation influences severity of diaphragm dysfunction in preterm lambs. (2015 Nov;20(8):1255-62).
4. Song Y, Karisnan K, Noble PB, Berry CA, Lavin T, Moss TJ, Bakker AJ, Pinniger GJ, Pillow JJ. In utero LPS exposure impairs preterm diaphragm contractility. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2013;49(5):866-74.
5. Krishnan K, Mitra NK, Yee LS, Yang HM. A comparison of Neurotoxicity in Cerebellum Produced by Dermal Application of Chlorpyrifos in young and Adult Mice. Journal of Neural Transmission.  2012 Mar;119(3):345-52.

Awards and Accomplishments

• IMU Postgraduate Scholarship (2005)
• UWA International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS, 2011)
• Research awards including the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ 2014)
• Early Career award, Australian Physiological Society (AuPS 2013)
• Travel award and Best Investigator award at KL International Neonatology Conference (KLINC 2016)