Kanika Ghai

B.S. in Life Sciences, St. Xavier's College
M.S. in Life Science/Biochemistry, St. Xavier's College

Thesis Advisor:  Andy Fischer

E-Mail:  ghai.2@osu.edu

Research:

I am currently investigating the role of the Notch signaling pathway in retinal development and regeneration, using chickens as a model system. My thesis project is focussed around studying the phenotypic plasticity of Muller glia in the postnatal retina. Studies that I conduct in the lab help to determine:

• The cell types that express Notch-1, Delta, Hes1 and Hes5, components of the Notch Signaling pathway, in the postnatal retina after NMDA-induced injury.
• The effects of blocking Notch signaling with pharmacological inhibitors like DAPT, on gene expression, using techniques such as ISH, quantitative and semi quantitative PCR.
• The cell fates of Notch-expressing Muller glial derived progenitors in response to injury, using a combination of IHC and ISH.

Additionally, I am carrying out side projects to determine:

• The role of the Notch signaling pathway in determining cell fate of retinal progenitors in the embryonic chicken retina.
• The role of BMP4 signaling in retinal regeneration.

Awards:

• 2001    University of Mumbai National Scholarship
• 2003    University Fellowship, The Ohio State University
• 2008    Society for Neuroscience Chapter Grant, N.E.U.R.O Outreach Activities
• 2009    Distinguished Lecturer Travel Award, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program

Publications:

Ghai K, Stanke JJ, Fischer AJ. (2008) Patterning of the circumferential marginal zone of progenitors in the chicken retina. Brain Res. 1192:76-89.

Fischer AJ, Stanke JJ, Ghai K, Scott M, Omar G. (2007) Development of bullwhip neurons in the embryonic chicken retina. J Comp Neurol. 503(4):538-49.

Presentations at National Meetings:

Ghai K, Zelinka C, Fischer AJ. Serotonin in Retinal Bipolar Neurons Is Scavenged After Release From Amacrine Neurons and Degraded in Bipolar Neurons Program no. 4166, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2009.

Ghai K and Fischer AJ.  Inhibition of Gamma-Secretase Activity and Silencing of bHLH Factors Hes1 and Hes5 Have Distinctly Different Outcomes on Cell Fate Specification of Cultured Chicken Retinal Progenitors, Program no. 4089, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2007.

Fischer AJ, Stanke J and Ghai K.  The Development of bullwhip Cells in the Embryonic Chicken Retina, Program no. 5691, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2007.

Pyter LM, Butcher GQ, Congdon EE, Detloff MR, Ghai K, Venugopal S, Bresnahan JC, and Beattie MS.  Mapping neuroscience at The Ohio State University: Graphic representations of program and individual scientific breadth and depth in association, Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting (Washington, D.C.) 2005.

Butcher GQ, Detloff MR, Ghai K, Hoschouer EL, Pyter LM, Venugopal S, and Bishop GA.  Neuroscience Education: Urban and Rural Outreach (NEURO), Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting (Washington, D.C.) 2005.