Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., McGill University
Office: 501-686-5443; Cell: 501-247-0312
Lab: 501-686-5472
Email: ChowdhuryParimal@uams.edu
Dr. Chowdhury retired from his tenured Full Professor position in July 2019 after 39 years of distinguished service at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is maintaining his Emeritus position in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology until further notice. The overall goals of his laboratory were to study the mechanisms of smoking-related pancreatic diseases and space travel-related physiological regulation under conditions of simulated microgravity.
Over the years, his research team has focused on pulmonary physiology and gastrointestinal endocrinology as it relates to the pathogenesis of pulmonary injury and induction of pancreatitis by smoke components. Chowdhury’s laboratory has demonstrated that nicotine, one of the major and addictive components of cigarette smoking, is the most important agent in the trigger of inflammatory responses by the pancreas resulting in alterations of pancreatic physiology that may lead to pancreatitis and perhaps to pancreatic cancer development in smokers. The mechanistic studies conducted in these projects involve 1) in-vivo studies using rodents as animal species and 2) in-vitro studies using immortalized differentiated mutant cell lines and primary cell cultures. In projects with NASA, Dr. Chowdhury utilized a NASA-validated animal model of simulated weightlessness representing microgravity and evaluated the effect of hind limb suspension in physiological responses to various tissues with the ultimate aim of developing countermeasures for space travel-related sickness. This study expanded further with other team members from UAMS to assess the physiological alterations involving musculoskeletal, vascular, and metabolic effects of microgravity and space radiation and their intimate connection to metabolic syndromes. Several physiological parameters such as oxidative stress in muscle disuse, the effect of radiation, nutritional deficiencies, and pressure-pain threshold (a measure of insulin resistance) were included to carry on these studies.
Representative Publications
N Siddiqui, A-J Parsian, RJ Griffin, R Pathak, G Boysen, P Chowdhury. Effects of a low dose X-ray Irradiation and Simulated Microgravity on physiological, oxidative stress biomarker and metabolomics adaptations. Open Access Journal of Biomedical Science (OAJBS) 2021- 4(5): pp 1187-1193.ID.000330. DOI: 10.38125/OAJBS.000330.
Ratan Sadhukhan, Debajyoti Majumdar, Sarita Garg, Reid D Landes, Victoria McHargue, Snehalata Pawar, Parimal Chowdhury, Robert Griffin, Ganesh Narayanasamy, Maxim Dobretsov, Martin Hauer-Jensen, Rupak Pathak. Simultaneous exposure to chronic irradiation and simulated microgravity differentially alters immune cells phenotype in mouse thymus and spleen. Life Sciences in Space Research, Feb 28, 2021, pages 66-73; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2020.09.004
Victor Cardenas, Lori A. Fisbach and Parimal Chowdhury. The use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems during Pregnancy and its Reproductive outcomes: A systematic Review of the Literature, Tob Induc Dis DOI: 10.18332/tid/104724, July 2019, vol 17.
Parimal Chowdhury. Anti-oxidants as possible anti-proliferative agents for pancreatic cancer. DDW 2019, May 18-21, 2019, San Diego, California.
Parimal Chowdhury. John Jayroe, Bryan White and Ember Fenton. Effects of a Natural Polyphenol on nicotine-induced Pancreatic Cancer Cell Proliferation. Tobacco Induced Diseases 2018 October, 16:50-58.
Parimal Chowdhury. Aminoguanidine (AG) induces pro-oxidant effect on AR42J cells, a Rat Pancreatic Tumor Cell line. Ann Clin & Lab Sci 47(5):217-225, 2017
Parimal Chowdhury, PhD, Nisreen Akel, BS, Azemat Jamshidi-Parsian, MS, Dana Gaddy, PhD, Robert J. Griffin, PhD, Jai Yadlapalli,PhD and Maxim Dobretsov, PhD. Degenerative tissue responses to space-like radiation doses in a rodent model of simulated microgravity. Ann Clin & Lab Sci, 46 (2): 87-94, 2016
Parimal Chowdhury. Simulated microgravity induced in rat via hindlimb unloading (HLS) induced modulation of tissue oxidative response when combined with calorie restriction. Arkansas Aerospace Proceedings, 2:21-25, 2016
Azida H Walker, Otis Perkins, Rahul Mehta, Nawab Ali, Maxim Dobretsov, Parimal Chowdhury.Changes in Mechanical properties of Rat Bones under simulated effects of Microgravity and Radiation. Physics Procedia 66: 610-616, 2015
Parimal Chowdhury, Ashley Long, Nisreen Akel, Dana Gaddy, Robert Griffin, Lauren Bailey and Maxim Dobretsov. Radiation combined with hind-limb suspension affects physiological parameters in rats. The FASEB JOURNAL vol 28 (1) Supplement 1103.7, April 2014
Parimal Chowdhury and John JayRoe. Effect of a natural polyphenol on nicotine-induced pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. Tobacco Induced Diseases 12 ( suppl):A7, 2014
P. Chowdhury, M. Soulsby, J. Pasley, D. McKay, and S. Bansal. Effects of dietary soy protein on hematological and Tissue Oxidant/Anti-oxidant levels in rats exposed to Simulated Microgravity. J Phys Chem and Biophys 3(1ssue 1):1-6, 2013
Parimal Chowdhury and Kodethoor B. Udupa. Effect of Nicotine on Exocytotic Pancreatic Secretory Response: Role of calcium signaling. Tobacco Induced Diseases 11:1-9, 2013 (Listed in Faculty of 1000 on February 20, 2013)
Parimal Chowdhury, Ashley Long, Gabriella Harris, Michael E. Soulsby, and Maxim Dobretsov. Animal model of simulated microgravity: a comparative study of hindlimb unloading via tail versus pelvic Suspension. Physiological Reports 1 (issue 1):1-11, 2013
Samar Hassen,Nawab Ali and Parimal Chowdhury. Molecular Signaling Mechanisms of Apoptosis in Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer.World Journal Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology 2012, June 15 3(3):71-79.
John Jayroe, Michael Soulsby and Parimal Chowdhury. Attenuation of tissue oxidative stress by dietary restriction in rats on simulated microgravity. Ann Clin & Lab Sci 42(2):301-305, 2012
Parimal Chowdhury and Stewart MacLeod. Smoking and Cancer. In: Cigarette Smoke Toxicity, Linking individual chemicals to human diseases. Bernhard, D.(Ed), Wiley Publishers, 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co.KGaA.Boschstr 12 69409, Weinheim, Germany, Chapter 8, pp 145-159. Published on line 24th Feb 2011; DOI 10 1002/9783527635320.ch8
Parimal Chowdhury; Michael E Soulsby; John J Jayroe; Akel S Nisreen; Dana Gaddy; Maxim Dobretsov,. Pressure Hyperalgesia in Hind-Limb Suspended Rats. Aviation Space Environ Med 82:988-991, 2011
Parimal Chowdhury. Parimal Chowdhury’s work on smoking related pancreatic disorders. World Journal Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology 2011 June 15; 2(3): 35-40