Devangana Rajan

Thesis title: Determining the role of extracellular vesicles to the brain-kidney axis

Biography

Background

Devangana Rajan completed her MSc in Brain Sciences with Distinction at the University of Glasgow, following a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience from the same institution. Her research centres on neuroimmune interactions and molecular mechanisms in neurological conditions, with a dedicated focus on translational bioscience.

Devangana's postgraduate dissertation involved a hypothesis-driven in vitro study exploring how maternal stress-related glucocorticoid release influences microglial activation in the context of early developmental immune responses and schizophrenia risk. Prior to this, her undergraduate Honours research focused on analyzing the main and interactive effects of intra-tissue hormones (testosterone and cortisol) on hippocampal spatial memory function in a pharmacologically puberty-blocked animal model. Devangana has also completed short-term research placements at the Yenepoya Research Centre and the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in India, collaborating with teams focused on ischemic stroke and molecular psychiatry research. She joins the MRC Precision Medicine PhD programme (2025 cohort) to investigate the role of extracellular vesicles to the brain-kidney axis, under the supervision of Professor Lorraine Work, Dr Martin McBride (University of Glasgow), and Dr Laura Denby (University of Edinburgh).

Qualifications

  • MSc Brain Sciences, University of Glasgow (2023-2024)
  • BSc (Hons) Neuroscience, University of Glasgow (2019-2023)

Past research interests

During her undergraduate and postgraduate academic training, Devangana explored the potential of neuromodulatory approaches for targeted, individualized interventions for neurological conditions. This included developing research proposals examining the neuroprotective potential of High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) for post-ischemic stroke rehabilitation, and optimising HD-tDCS protocol for treating eating disorder-related food cravings and binge-eating behaviour.

Project activity

Precision Medicine PhD Project

Devangana Rajan’s PhD project focuses on elucidating the role of extracellular vesicles in the brain–kidney axis, a bidirectional communication network that maintains homeostasis, but is increasingly recognised to underlie disease state. Her research aims to determine how brain injury affects kidney function, and vice versa, with a particular emphasis on extracellular vesicle–mediated crosstalk.

Taking a precision medicine approach, the project will integrate preclinical models (in vitro and in vivo) of stroke and progressive kidney disease with clinical patient samples, enabling detailed physiological and inflammatory phenotyping to characterise the contribution of extracellular vesicles and their molecular contents to reciprocal brain–kidney injury. The findings have the potential to inform patient stratification and support the development of targeted rehabilitation strategies and pharmacological interventions following brain or kidney injury.

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