Research
Dr. Desai’s basic and clinical research focuses on the topic of the ‘developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), specifically on obesity and metabolic syndrome. Her basic science research uses rodent models of maternal under- and over-nutrition to understand the mechanisms of gestational and lactational programming of offspring obesity. This includes studying the development and function of the appetite regulatory center at multiple levels, which encompasses a spectrum of molecular and cellular studies such as stem cells, epigenetics, gene expression and cellular signaling paradigms. Her clinical studies address the impact of maternal obesity on breast milk composition and infant weight gain and later obesity. Recent studies have established a novel model of in vitro milk secretion in mammary epithelial cell cultures with the aim of modulating milk composition. The ultimate goal is to provide an innovative strategy to prevent childhood and adult obesity.
Biography
Dr. Desai is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Director of Perinatal Research at The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Desai is the Director of Education Training Program and Director of High School Summer Fellowship Program at The Lundquist Institute. She is also the Chair of the Student Advising and Academic Standards Committee and a member of the Steering Committee for the Lundquist Graduate Program. She received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India. She then pursued her Ph.D. degree and a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Dr. Desai began her academic career with a National Institutes of Health (NIH) K01 grant funded by NIDDK. Since then, she has been continually funded by the NIH, March of Dimes, American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association. Dr. Desai has served as an appointed member of NIH/NIDDK IPOD study section and is currently an Associate Editor for the Cambridge University Press Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. Dr. Desai has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals, numerous book chapters and reviews. She is a recipient of the International Atomic Energy Agency Fellowship, Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship, Perinatal Research Society Award, Richard E. Weitzman Memorial Award, and US DOHaD President’s Award.