Research Interests

Our group is interested in understanding the genetic basis of complex disorders such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic pancreatitis and its interaction with various environmental factors (epigenetic basis). The major focus is on identifying various genetic and nutritional factors (and interaction between them), which influence The Thin Fat Indian Phenotype, and various intermediate traits that predict higher risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome. These determinants could be both maternal and fetal in origin and we believe that the variable clinical phenotype of these complex disorders in Indians has different genetic basis that is regulated differently and is programmed in-utero (Developmental Origins of Adult Common Diseases,). The larger goal is to have comprehensive knowledge of gene-gene and gene-nutrient interaction that will enable to alleviate and/or modulate the clinical course and complications of these disorders by modification of life style and diet, especially micronutrients.

Selected Publications

C S Yajnik, G R Chandak, C Joglekar, P Katre, D S Bhat, S N Singh, C S Janipalli, H Refsum, G Krishnaveni, S Veena, C Osmond, CHD Fall. Maternal homocysteine in pregnancy and offspring birthweight: Epidemiological associations and Mendelian randomizationanalysis. Int J Epidemiology 22 July 2014. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 25052622.
[Accompanied by Editorial Commentary, Sarah J Lewis (2014). “One-carbon metabolism has major implications for fetal growth and development beyond neural tube defects” Int. J. of Epidemiol., 1-2 doi: 10.1093/ije/dyu175].

Heiko Witt, Sebastian Beer, Jonas Rosendahl, Jian-Min Chen, GirirajRatanChandak, et al. Loss-of-function mutations in CPA1 are strongly associated with early-onset chronic pancreatitis. Nature Genetics 2013 Oct;45(10):1216-20. doi: 10.1038/ng.2730. Epub 2013 Aug 18.

Ganesh Chauhan, Charles J Spurgeon, 12 more authors and G R Chandak (2010). Impact of common variants of PPARG, KCNJ11, TCF7L2, SLC3018, HHEX, CDKN2A, IGF2BP2 AND CDKAL1 on the risk of type 2 diabetes in 5148 Indians. Diabetes ;59(8):2068-74.

P D Gluckman, P Bateson, A S Beedle, Z A Bhutta, M A Hanson, C Law, K V Anokhin, P Bougneres, G R Chandak, P Dasupta, G D Smith, P T Ellison, T Forrester, S F Gilbert, E Jablonka, H Kaplan, A M Prentice, S J Simpson, R Uauy & M J West-Eberhard (2009).”Development and human disease – a synthesis of evolutionary, medical, anthropological, and economic perspectives”. Lancet 373(9675):1654-1657.

G R Chandak, C S Janipalli, S Bhaskar, S R Kulkarni, P Mohankrishna, A T Hattersley, T M Frayling, C S Yajnik (2007). Common variants in the TCF7L2 gene are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Indian population. Diabetologia50(1):63-67.