Tirupapuliyur Damodaran

Tirupapuliyur Damodaran is a research associate professor in North Carolina Central University’s Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. His research background includes molecular toxicology and medical genetics with a special emphasis on gene expression studies to develop models for disease progression in exposure-induced disorders and genetic disorders.

During his tenure at Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Damodaran was involved in several research projects of global gene expression studies that addressed the variabilities of clinical symptoms for the early and late-onset forms of a few genetic disorders (Glycogen Storage Disorders I and II). He was also involved in genetic and molecular studies of kidney disorders such as follicular segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS). His collaborative research efforts with Duke investigators resulted in several novel findings from these research projects.

He has been teaching human anatomy and physiology (part I and part II) along with an introduction to research course at NCCU. He is also a participating faculty in Global Education, Academics, and Research Skills (GEAR) from NC State University, mentoring international students in research projects. He has been actively involved in various capacities at the Society of Toxicology (SOT) for the last several years. As a member of the Diversity Initiative efforts team and FUTURE committee of SOT, he has been involved in mentoring research projects and enhancing learning experiences from HBCUs that resulted in productive data sets presented at SOT conferences.

As the founding adviser of the Tri Beta Biology Honor Society at NCCU, he has brought several programs of leadership training, public awareness, and educational and professional pathway programs to the NCCU campus. His current research includes environmental health disparities and data analytics relevant to human disorders.