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Mandana Pahlavani, PhD

Assistant Professor
Texas Woman's University
Denton, Texas, United States

Biography
Mandana Pahlavani, Ph. D., is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas, and an adjunct assistant professor at UTSW, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology. She has a strong research background in Nutrition, Obesity, Cardiometabolic health, and Inflammation. Her research program seeks to understand the physiological, cellular, and molecular mechanisms of HDL function, lipid metabolism, reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), as well as the use of bioactive food compounds such as polyphenols to favorably manipulate lipid metabolism and gut microbiota to ultimately reduce coronary artery disease (CAD), and obesity. Additionally, her Nano-Nutrition and Cardiometabolic Research (NNCMR) lab focuses on encapsulating dietary compounds, especially polyphenols, on enhancing their bioavailability to positively impact HDL function, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota.

Her doctoral dissertation focused on elucidating the cellular and molecular basis for the physiological effects of an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in brown adipose tissue using animal models and cellular and molecular approaches. She was awarded a two-year USDA postdoctoral fellowship, to address a novel area of molecular nutrition to understand mechanisms mediating the metabolic effects of omega-3 fatty acids in preventing and/or decreasing obesity. With this solid foundation in basic science, she decided to pursue patient-oriented research in HDL function in cardiometabolic health at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), supported by an NIH T32 training program. Her second postdoc training at UTSW focused on deep phenotyping approaches to understand the role of lipid metabolism and lipoproteins in cardiometabolic health. Additionally, she was awarded American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Fellowship to perform deep phenotyping approaches to understand the role of lipid metabolism in cardiometabolic health.

Her combined training in basic science on bioactive food compounds (especially polyphenols), and patient-oriented research on HDL function have equipped her with unique cross-disciplinary training and experiences to effectively address major cardiometabolic disease challenges that are modulated by lipids and fatty acids.

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