Umesh Wankhade

Umesh Wankhade is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), College of Medicine. His research focuses on the developmental origins of adipose tissue and its long-term impact on offspring metabolic health, particularly in the context of maternal obesity and early-life nutritional influences.

His research interests center on understanding how adipose tissue—particularly thermogenic beige, brown, and white fat—develops during early life and is programmed by maternal and infant diets. Using high-throughput genomic tools such as RNA-seq, DNA methylation profiling, and microbial ecology analyses, his work aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying fetal metabolic programming. This research has significant implications for preventing childhood and adult obesity and diabetes.

Dr. Wankhade leverages both traditional models (cell culture, animal models) and advanced omics technologies to explore how early-life exposures shape lifelong metabolic outcomes. His integrative approach bridges developmental biology, nutrition, and epigenetics to identify novel intervention points for metabolic diseases.

He received his D.V.M. from Nagpur, India, followed by an M.V.Sc. from Izzatnagar, India, and completed his Ph.D. in Human Nutrition at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining UAMS in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK), where he studied TGF-b signaling in adipose tissue development.

Dr. Wankhade has no listed scientific awards in the provided text, but his research program reflects a strong focus on mechanistic and translational inquiry into metabolic disease prevention.

He has mentored students and trainees in his lab, though specific names are not listed. His research is supported by institutional and potentially federal funding, though specific grants are not detailed in the text.

Dr. Wankhade leads a research team focused on metabolic programming within the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center (ACNC), where his lab investigates adipose tissue development using cutting-edge genomic and bioinformatic approaches.