Indrayani Waghmare

Expertise

Drosophila, cell-cell communication, Wnt/Wg signaling, genetics, cell and developmental biology

Research Interests

Drosophila genetics, cell-cell communication, Wnt/Wg signaling, genetics, cell and developmental biology

Education

Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, 2016-2023, Vanderbilt University
Ph.D.: Biology, 2016, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, USA
M.S.: Molecular Biology, 2011, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
B.Sc .: Zoology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, 2009, Hislop College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Biosketch

Indrayani Waghmare, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Biological Sciences Department and was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University from 2016-2023.

Selected Awards and Honors

2013-2015 Graduate Student Summer Fellowship, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
2015, 2016 The Graduate Teaching Award of Excellence for the Outstanding Teaching of Advanced Biology Laboratory Classes, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
2021 Best poster award in postdoc category at the annual ‘Program in Developmental Biology’ retreat, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2021 Winner of the ‘Cell and Developmental Biology image competition (CDB)’ at the annual CDB retreat, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2022-2023 Southeastern Conference Emerging Scholars Fellow, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
2023 Cell Dynamics Postdoc Achievement Award, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Selected Publications

National Library of Medicine Bibliography

Selected Presentations

2023 Understanding glypican-based mechanisms of extracellular Wnt distribution
Selected talk, Gordon Research Conference on ‘Wnt signaling: Molecular
Mechanisms, Embryonic Development and Adult Tissue Homeostasis and
Therapeutics, Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

2022 How do cells talk to each other: Role of glypicans in establishing intercellular Communication
Invited talk, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA

2022 Drosophila Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 cleaves and destabilizes Dally-like protein to attenuate long-range Wg distribution
Selected talk, Southeast Society for Developmental Biology Conference
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

2021 Wnt distribution in the Drosophila ovary
Selected talk, Cell Dynamics Symposium
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

2019 Dlp (Dally-like protein) regulates functions of multiple Wnts in Drosophila germarium
Selected talk, Gordon Research Seminar on ‘Wnt Signaling Networks in
Development, Disease and Regeneration, West Dover, VT

2018 Dally-like (Dlp) regulates activities of Wnt ligands in Drosophila ovaries
Selected talk, Gordon Research Conference on ‘Tissue Niches and Resident Stem
Cells in Adult Epithelia, Waterville Valley, NH

2016 Investigation of Altered Cell-cell Interactions and Signaling Mechanisms in Drosophila Tumor Models
Invited talk, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA

2016 Investigation of Altered Cell-cell Interactions and Signaling Mechanisms in Drosophila Tumor Models
Invited talk, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

2015 Altered signaling module in Drosophila epithelial cancer model
Invited talk, University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash College, Blue Ash, OH

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

2022-present K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

2020-2021 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (T-32 training grant), National Cancer Institute (NCI)

2013-2015 Graduate Student Summer Fellowship, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

Research Currently in Progress

Proper biological development of all multicellular animals requires precise communication between different cells, referred to as intercellular signaling. Intercellular signaling is instructed by ligands, proteins that are typically secreted outside the cell into the extracellular space where they serve as ‘messages’ to cells, and aberrant intercellular signaling causes diseases like cancer. The availability of extracellular ligands is a key determinant of intercellular signaling, and proteins called glypicans, which sit on the cell surface, interact with the ligands in the extracellular space to modulate their availability. I am interested in understanding how glypicans regulate extracellular ligand availability to 1) fine-tune intercellular signaling during development and 2) promote cancer growth. I will be starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at UML. My lab will combine versatile and powerful Drosophila (fruit fly) genetic techniques and biochemical approaches to understand how cells talk to each other during development and how this cell-cell communication is deregulated in diseases like cancer. Flies are an excellent model organism to understand these questions because it is easy to manipulate genes in these animals to understand their functions and how they affect development. They have a short life cycle, which allows you to test your experimental hypothesis relatively quickly. We have positions available open in the lab starting in January 2024. Please contact me at indrayani_waghmare@uml.edu to learn more about my research and if you are interested in joining my lab.