Poonam Thakur

Poonam Thakur is an Assistant Professor at the School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram. Her research focuses on Parkinson’s disease (PD), specifically the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, development of mouse models, and neuroprotective strategies.

• PhD in Neuroscience from Panjab University (2014)
• Postdoctoral work at Lund University (Sweden) and Goethe University (Germany)
• Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Early Career Fellow (2019-2024)

Research Emphasis:

• Developing accurate PD models to study pathogenesis
• Investigating lipid alterations, post-translational modifications, and neuroinflammation in PD progression
• Expanding into machine learning and AI for data analysis

Key Awards:

• Junior Scientist Award (International Parkinson & Movement Disorder Society, 2016)
• Multiple travel awards for international conferences (Japan, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, etc.)

Funding Sources:

• Parkinson's Foundation USA
• DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance
• Cure Parkinson’s Trust UK
• SERB and IISER intramural funds