Bio

Dr. Manjari Jonnalagadda is a molecular anthropologist who is interested in understanding the evolution of complex traits among Indian populations using phenotypic, genetic and evolutionary perspectives. Her doctoral work was supported by the Women Scientist-A grant from DST wherein she characterized the phenotypic and genotypic variation in skin pigmentation among diverse social groups of West Maharashtra and has found significant skin pigmentation differences among caste and tribal populations, along with a weak correlation between melanin levels and UVR across the subcontinental region indicating that natural selection may not be the dominant factor in shaping this variation, and factors such as endogamy may have led to the development of population structure thereby contributing to pigmentation diversity in West Maharashtra and across the Indian subcontinent. An association analysis shows the rs1426654 - SLC24A5 variant explains a majority of the observed variation in skin pigmentation in West Maharashtra. Her post-doctoral work at the University of Toronto, Canada focused on exploring the genetic architecture of skin pigmentation in Indians using a whole genome approach by performing a genome wide association analysis (GWAS). Through the award of an Early Career Research Award (ECRA) grant from SERB, GoI she studied the role of candidate pigmentation gene MC1R in shaping pigmentation diversity in Maharashtra. This project analyzed MC1R sequence diversity in populations with diverse pigmentary profiles to see if MC1R is constrained in dark skinned tribal as compared to lighter skinned caste populations in West Maharashtra. Analysis revealed no evidence of a selective constraint on MC1R suggesting that these polymorphisms may not be influencing pigmentation variation among populations in this region. Her future projects involve understanding the correlations between skin pigmentation and vitamin D levels in Indian populations with diverse pigmentary profiles. She is also working towards understating the genetic variants involved in the skin mediated vitamin D biosynthesis pathway to be able to comment on genetic factors that contribute to vitamin D deficiency in Indian populations. Through her doctoral students she is interested in exploring the domain of personalized medicine through the analysis of genes and genetic variations involved in drug metabolism.