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Post Doctoral Fellow
Vanderbilt university
Nashville, TN, United States
Soma Behera, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, is a biomedical researcher whose work focuses on pancreatic islet biology, glucagon secretion, and the molecular mechanisms underlying diabetes and metabolic disease. Her current research investigates how nutrient sensing, redox signaling, and ion channel regulation control pancreatic α-cell function and glucagon secretion. She recently identified cysteine as a critical regulator of α-cell electrical excitability through redox-dependent modulation of voltage-gated sodium channels, providing new insights into glucose counterregulation during hypoglycemia.
Dr. Behera earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Hyderabad, where she studied the role of the phosphatase PHLPP1 in endoplasmic reticulum stress–mediated skeletal muscle insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction. Her doctoral research revealed novel interactions between PHLPP1, AMPK signaling, and cellular stress pathways that contribute to insulin resistance. Throughout her career, she has employed molecular, cellular, biochemical, and physiological approaches to investigate mechanisms of metabolic regulation. Her long-term research goal is to advance the understanding of endocrine cell dysfunction in diabetes and identify novel therapeutic targets to improve metabolic health.
Disclosure information not submitted.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM CT