Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
Skip to main content

Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 378 6238
Email
bhatia.madhav@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Professor
Department
Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science (Christchurch)
Qualifications
BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD
Research summary
Inflammation

Research

Professor Madhav Bhatia's research focuses on inflammation, and he is the head of the Inflammation Research Group at the University of Otago, Christchurch.

Professor Bhatia leads an active research programme on the molecular pharmacology and molecular pathology of inflammatory conditions, such as acute pancreatitis, polymicrobial sepsis, burns, and arthritis.

His research has shown hydrogen sulfide and substance P as mediators of inflammation and potential therapeutic targets for inflammatory diseases. Professor Bhatia is interested in defining the mechanism by which hydrogen sulfide and substance P contribute to inflammation.

The Group's research has shown a key role of chemokines in inflammatory diseases, and of pancreatic acinar cell apoptosis in acute pancreatitis. The Group has also been working on novel markers for diagnosis and prognosis of inflammatory and infectious diseases.

The long-term goal of this research is to translate this knowledge to the clinic, and early results in this direction have been promising.

Funding

The Inflammation Research Group is supported by:

  • Lottery Health
  • Canterbury Medical Research Foundation
  • Arthritis New Zealand
  • University of Otago Research Grant
  • Maurice & Phyllis Paykel Trust
  • Health Reseach Council of New Zealand Singapore Networking Grant
  • Royal Scoiety of New Zealand's Catalyst: Leaders New Zealand-China Scientist Exchange Programme

Prior to moving to Christchurch, Professor Bhatia's research was supported by research grants from Biomedical Research Council, Singapore, National Medical Research Council, Singapore, Academic Research Fund, National University of Singapore, Singapore, and Defence Science and Technology Agency-National University of Singapore Joint Applied R&D Co-operation Programme, Singapore.

Publications

Zhu, Z., Chambers, S., & Bhatia, M. (2024). Suppressing the substance P-NK1R signalling protects mice against sepsis-associated acute inflammatory injury and ferroptosis in the liver and lungs. Antioxidants, 13, 300. doi: 10.3390/antiox13030300 Journal - Research Article

Manandhar, S., Gaddam, R. R., Chambers, S., & Bhatia, M. (2024). Kupffer cell inactivation alters endothelial cell adhesion molecules in cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis. Biomolecules, 14, 84. doi: 10.3390/biom14010084 Journal - Research Article

Manandhar, S., Chambers, S., Miller, A., Ishii, I., & Bhatia, M. (2023). Pharmacological inhibition and genetic deletion of cystathionine gamma-lyase in mice protects against organ injury in sepsis: A key role of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, 13650. doi: 10.3390/ijms241713650 Journal - Research Article

Pan, L.-L., Ren, Z.-N., Yang, J., Li, B.-B., Huang, Y.-W., Song, D.-X., … Bhatia, M., … Sun, J. (2023). Gut microbiota controls the development of chronic pancreatitis: A critical role of short-chain fatty acids-producing Gram-positive bacteria. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2023.08.002 Journal - Research Article

Zhu, Z., & Bhatia, M. (2023). Inflammation and organ injury the role of substance P and its receptors. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, 6140. doi: 10.3390/ijms24076140 Journal - Research Other

Back to top