Pramod Mahajan, B.Sc, M.Sc, Ph.D

Biography

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: 

• American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
• American Association of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)
• Association of Biochemistry Educators (ABE)
• American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG)
• American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA)
• Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA)
• Iowa Rural Health Association (IRHA)
• Iowa Academy of Science (IAS)

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE: 

• Leadership Team Member, Pharmacogenomics Community, AAPS
• Leadership Team Member, Global Health Community, AAPS
• Member, Biomarkers and Precision Medicine Community, AAPS
• Member, Editorial Board, AAPS Journal
• Member, Public Education and Awareness Committee, ASHG

UNIVERSITY SERVICE: 

• Global Engagement Advisory Committee
• Faculty Advisory Committee, Global & Public Health Concentration 

COLLEGE SERVICE: 

• Member, Faculty Affairs Committee 
• Member, DeltaRx Advisory Committee
• Faculty Advisor, AAPS Student Chapter
• Faculty Advisor, NCODA Student Chapter

HONORS & AWARDS:

• Hartig Distinguished Professor - 2012
• Drake Undergraduate Science Collaborative Institute Award - 2016
• Waukee Independent School District's APEX Catalyst Award - 2018
• Drake's The Principal Financial Group Global Citizenship Award - 2019

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY:

I was born and brought up in a small town in rural Midwestern India. Long after I graduated from high school, my hometown did not have electricity, access was by dirt roads only and one had to travel an entire day to get to the nearest hospital or a movie theater. Nevertheless, I successfully completed my University education and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. I credit many of my teachers (among others) for my achievements thus far. Thus, my learning experiences form the foundation of my teaching philosophy. Built upon this foundation of undying quest for knowledge, is a multifaceted framework of skills and experience. This framework, like the Lego sets, is 'modular'. The modular design provides sufficient structure to support teaching the fact based life sciences curriculum. On the other hand, its inherent flexibility allows for creativity and expansion, much needed to accommodate the ever-growing knowledge base, and to serve today's diverse, information savvy and curious student body.

Pedagogically, teaching and learning are both very complex processes. They may be mutually non-exclusive, i.e. occurring simultaneously. Using a chemical metaphor, both are active processes, requiring certain level of concentration (pun intended!), energy and time. These three parameters are to be contributed by both components, i.e. the teacher and the student body, involved in this interaction.

I strongly believe that a teacher, especially at the Graduate and Professional School level, has some additional roles to play. The teacher is primarily responsible for generating that enthusiasm for learning, that thirst for knowledge, that quest for wanting to achieve. How do I do this? In a limited sense, by working like a catalyst-an enzyme- by increasing the 'activation energy' of the learning process of a student! I try to achieve this by being passionate in imparting knowledge. With passion comes enthusiasm. Use of modern teaching aids (podcasts, audio, video clips) helps build the enthusiasm for today's professional students. Additionally, interactions among students via group discussions, team projects, case studies and hands on experimentation are some of the active learning techniques I use effectively to generate and keep the levels of enthusiasm high in my class. Moreover, I entrust students with the responsibility for their progress as much as I take the responsibility to help them achieve their goals in learning. I believe a teacher's role extends beyond simply delivering complex technical information to students. In fact, a University teacher must be prepared to act as a mentor, a coach, a guide, and provide timely feedback to the students. I try to fulfill this role with dedication and patience.

I expect students to perform at a very high level. I ensure they understand my expectation at the very beginning of the semester. I encourage their interactions amongst themselves and with me. This training is essential for their overall development as professionals as well as engaged citizens. I evaluate and assess students continuously and offer constructive criticism and suggestions. Their performance in the tests is one measure of what they have learnt. On the other hand, students’ performance may also be used to evaluate the method(s) used to disseminate information. A good teacher knows why a student is having a difficulty by the nature of the question the student poses. As a result of my teaching, I expect students to learn the basic facts in the context of concepts being taught, think independently, deduce logically, apply judiciously and express confidently.

Even after an extended teaching career, I strongly believe there is always room to improve. I invite and encourage constructive feedback, from my students and peers alike, on the style as well as substance of my teaching. I try to achieve this through formal (mid-year and annual evaluations) and informal (minute papers, focus groups, one-on-discussions) methods. Additionally, I seek opportunities to attend refresher courses and workshops and discussion groups organized in-house or through professional associations. My flexible, modular teaching philosophy allows me to add my learnings to improve that basic structure. Here, the limited analogy of a teacher with an enzyme breaks! The catalyst is not supposed to be changed at the end of a reaction. I intend to change. For better. In the modular approach described above, changes in instructional as well as evaluation methods, teaching technologies and curricular modifications can be accommodated with relative ease, making the implementation feasible for me and acceptable to the students. This document is just a snapshot of my current thinking about teaching and learning. I may revise it as needed, and improve myself as a teacher.

TEACHING GOALS: 

Specific teaching goals will change depending on the specific course and the specific class I would be teaching to. However, as a teacher, my objective is to be a learner centered teacher. Toward this broad objective, my teaching goals are to:

• Be knowledgeable and current about the subject matter
• Be an effective communicator
• Be fair, just and respectful to all students
• Be available to answer students' questions
• Be compassionate and caring to all students

EXPERIENCE:

Over 24 years of research and teaching experience, about equally divided in academia and biotechnology industry with a strong background in development and application of molecular technologies for improving human health.

PERSONAL INFORMATION: 

I am married to Prachi P. Mahajan. We live in Grimes, IA; We have two adult children. An ardent cricket fan, I am a so-so soccer coach but a tough referee (especially for unruly coaches and parents). I enjoy vegetarian cuisine, hot tea, classical music (Indian and Western), jazz and country music. An amateur actor (will act for food!), I like comedies of all kinds and mysteries of the Hitchcock category.

Areas of Expertise

• Biochemical & Molecular Proteomics
• Enzyme Engineering & Biotransformation
• Gene Targeting & Genome Modification
• Pharmacogenomics & Pharmacognosy
• Precision/Personalized Medicine 
• STEM & Continuing Education
• Global & Public Health Care

Education

• Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Poona, Poona, India
• M.Sc. Biochemistry, Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India
• B.Sc. Biology, Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India

Courses Taught

• PHAR 130 - Biochemistry
• PHAR 131/133D - Principles of Drug Action I
• PHAR 109 - Pharmacogenomics, elective
• PHAR 147 - International Health Topics, Study Abroad course in India
• PHAR-150 - Biotechnology for Global Health Care Professionals
• FYS - Genomics and Society

Latest Projects, Grants, and Publications

LATEST PROJECTS & GRANTS:

Since 2008, I have secured over $1.1 million in Extramural and $15,770 in intramural grants. Listed below are the latest funded research projects.

• Principal Investigator, 'SoapyCilantro A Hands-On Introduction to Genomics' Iowa Governor's STEM ScaleUP grant, July 2022 - June 2023
• Principal Investigator, 'SoapyCilantro: A Hands-On Introduction to Genomics' Iowa Governor's STEM ScaleUP grant, July 2021 - June 2022
• Principal Investigator (Dr. Abebe Mengesha, Co-PI) 'Biomarkers for Radiation-Induced DNA Damage during Human Space Exploration' NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium Base Grant; July 2020-June 2024.
• Principal Investigator (Dr. Natisha Jensen, Co-PI) 'A Precision Medicine Continuing Education Curriculum for Iowa's Health Care Professionals' NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium; Aug. 2018-Dec. 2020.
• Co-Principal Investigator (Dr. Erin Ulrich, Co-PI) 'Development and usability of a 'SoapyCilantro' A companion kit for STEM educators.' NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium; Aug. 2018-July 2019.
• Principal Investigator (Drs. Mobley-Bukstein, Ross and Stelter, Co-PIs) 'Exploring Complementary Approaches to Combat Global Non-Communicable Disease Burden' July 2018-June 2020. 
• Principal Investigator, 'Introduction to Precision Medicine: An Experiential Course for Iowa's STEM Teachers' NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium; Direct costs: $10,000; Aug. 2017-July 2018. 
• Principal Investigator 'Understanding role of metalloprotease activity in eukaryotic DNA repair' Research Grant from Harris Endowment Funds, Direct Costs: $6,900, Oct. 2013-May 2014.
• Co-Principal Investigator. (P.I.: Abebe Mengesha) Impact of Nanotechnology in Design and Development of Triggerable Drug Delivery Systems for Smart Medicine - Iowa NASA EPSCoR research grant; Jan. 2014-2016.

Research Scholars trained in the Mahajan Lab during 2012-2024

RECENT PUBLICATIONS & PATENTS:

(Total 51 issued US patents and 38 peer-reviewed publications; listed below are articles published since 2011)

• Mengesha, A., Hoerres, A and Mahajan P. (2022) 'Cytocompatability of oleic acid modified iron oxide nanoparticles'  Materials Letter 323, 132528. 
• Srivastava T, Joshi T, Heurth DP, Rezaiekhaligh MH, Garola RE, Zhou J, Boinpelly VC, Ali MF, Alon UA, Sharma M, Vanden Heuvel GB, Mahajan P, Lakshmi P, McCarthy ET, Savin VJ, Sharma R, and Sharma M. (2021) 'Perinatal exposure to Interleukin-6: a model to study developmental insult in susceptibility to chronic kidney disease in offspring' Scientific Reports 11: 13260-79.
• Kearney K, Puglisi M., Black E. and Mahajan P. (2020) What do pharmacy students need to know about biochemistry? Pharma. Edu. 20(1), 324-335.
• McFadgen K, Jensen N, Mahajan P. (2019) 'Application of pharmacogenomics for trauma and critical care patients: A case report' Trauma Case Reports, 24: 100266.
• Wall GC, Muktar H, Effken C, Mahajan PB. (2018) Addition of Allopurinol for altering Thiopurine metabolism to optimize therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Pharmacotherapy 38:259-270.
• Mahajan PB (2016) Recent Advances in Application of Pharmacogenomics for Biotherapeutics. AAPS J. 18:605-11.
• Buege, M, and Mahajan, P. (2015) 'Clinical Trials of Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors for Cancer Therapy: A Review'. Rev. Rec. Clin. Trials 10:326-339.
• Mahajan P., Meyer, K.S., Wall G.C. and Price J.J. (2011) Clinical applications of pharmacogenomics-guided Warfarin dosing. Int. J. Clin. Pharm. 33: 10-19.