Dr Soumyalekshmi Nair

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

UQ Centre for Clinical Research
Faculty of Medicine

Overview

Soumyalekshmi Nair has a degree in Veterinary and Animal Sciences (2009) and a Master of Veterinary Science in Animal Biotechnology (2011) from India. She completed her PhD in 2021 from the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Queensland. In her PhD she investigated the role of extracellular vesicles in gestational diabetes mellitus which involves developing extracellular vesicle -based biomarker for the early screening of pregnant women as well as therapeutic targets for the treatment of women with gestational diabetes. She was awarded the Research Training Scholarship from the University of Queensland and received prestigious awards from the Society of Reproductive Investigation and Australian and New Zealand Society for Extracellular Vesicles. Currently she is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Exosome Biology Lab, UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR). Her research interest is understanding the molecular mechanism by which extracellular vesicles can regulate the key signalling pathways in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and ovarian cancer, with a focus on translating this knowledge into clinical utility. She has several key publications in the field including research articles and reviews and presented at major national and international conferences. She is passionate about supporting women in science and enhancing community engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Research Interests

  • Extracellular Vesicles
    In our research we investigate the role of extracellular vesicles in the pathophysiology of diseases with a focus on harnessing their biomarker and therapeutic potential

Research Impacts

The research work on gestational diabetes elucidated the role of extracellular vesicle signalling in the regulation of glucose homeostasis in metabolic conditions. The major impact of my publications has been (1) Identifying the role of extracellular vesicle and their cargo in metabolic conditions and development of non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. (2) The study provided new insights into the molecular mechanism by which extracellular vesicles can regulate the functions of recipient cells. This can aid in the development of therapeutic targets for the treatment of diseases.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Research) of Veterinary Sciences
  • Bachelor of Veterinary Science

Publications

View all Publications

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Nair, Soumyalekshmi and Salomon, Carlos (2020). Potential role of exosomes in reproductive medicine and pregnancy. Exosomes: A Clinical Compendium. (pp. 357-381) edited by Lawrence Edelstein, John Smythies, Peter Quesenberry and Denis Noble. London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-816053-4.00016-X

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs