Urmimala Raychaudhuri
Biography
Urmimala Raychaudhuri, Ph.D., is a Project Scientist in the Rose lab at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in 2017. Her research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma, with particular emphasis on molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathology.
Raychaudhuri's doctoral research centered on the role of tissue transglutaminase in glaucoma, demonstrating that this enzyme elevates intraocular pressure in mouse models and that its knockout ameliorates TGFβ2-induced ocular hypertension. Her work identified tissue transglutaminase as a potential therapeutic target for glaucoma treatment. Following her doctorate, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University's Department of Ophthalmology before transitioning to her current position, where she conducts pre-clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease mouse models and investigates the effects of PPAR delta agonists in tauopathy models.
Throughout her career, Raychaudhuri has contributed to collaborative research examining retinal pathology as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease and has published work on aqueous humor outflow mechanisms, cathepsin B in trabecular meshwork cells, and glutamate excitotoxicity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She has received multiple research awards, including the ARVO Members-In-Training Outstanding Poster Award and the American Society for Cell Biology Travel Award. Prior to her research career, she served as a lecturer in pharmacology at dental colleges in Bangalore, India.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 2017
- M.Sc. in Medical Pharmacology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, 2009
- B.Sc. in Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Mount Carmel College, Bangalore University, 2006
Distinctions
- ARVO Members-In-Training Outstanding Poster Award (GL), The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, 2016
- GSBS Division of Student Affairs Scholarship, UNT Health Science Center, 2016-2017
Areas of Expertise
- Neurodegenerative Disease Pathology
- Glaucoma Trabecular Meshwork Mechanisms
- Tissue Transglutaminase Enzyme Function
- Aqueous Humor Outflow Dynamics
- PPAR Delta Agonist Therapeutics
- Tauopathy Mouse Models
- Retinal Biomarkers for Dementia
Recent Publications
- Arnold, F. J., Putka, A. F., Raychaudhuri, U., Hsu, S., Bedlack, R. S., Bennett, C. L., La Spada, A. R., “Revisiting Glutamate Excitotoxicity in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Age-Related Neurodegeneration”, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 5587, 2024.
- McDowell, Colleen M., et al., “Consensus recommendation for mouse models of ocular hypertension to study aqueous humor outflow and its mechanisms” (opens in new tab), Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 12-12, 2022.
- Nettesheim, A., Shim, M. S., Dixon, A., Raychaudhuri, U., Gong, H., Liton, P. B., “Cathepsin B localizes in the caveolae and participates in the proteolytic cascade in trabecular meshwork cells. Potential new drug target for the treatment of glaucoma” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Medicine, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 78, 2020.
- Belmares, R., Raychaudhuri, U., Maansson, S., Clark, A. F., “Histological investigation of human glaucomatous eyes: Extracellular fibrotic changes and galectin 3 expression in the trabecular meshwork and optic nerve head” (opens in new tab), Clinical Anatomy, vol. 31, no. 7, pp. 1031-1049, 2018.
- Raychaudhuri, U., Millar, J. C., Clark, A. F., “Knockout of tissue transglutaminase ameliorates TGFβ2-induced ocular hypertension: A novel therapeutic target for glaucoma” (opens in new tab), Experimental eye research, vol. 171, pp. 106-110, 2018.
- Raychaudhuri, U., Millar, J. C., Clark, A. F., “Tissue transglutaminase elevates intraocular pressure in mice” (opens in new tab), Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, vol. 58, no. 14, pp. 6197-6211, 2017.
- Lopez, Navita N., Patel, Gaurang C., Raychaudhuri, Urmimala, Aryal, Subhash, Phan, Tien N., Clark, Abbot F., Millar, J. Cameron, “Anterior chamber perfusion versus posterior chamber perfusion does not influence measurement of aqueous outflow facility in living mice by constant flow infusion” (opens in new tab), Experimental Eye Research, vol. 164, pp. 95-108, 2017.
- Kulkarni, Chanda, Ray Chaudhuri, Urmimala, Jagathesan, Annalakshmi, “Bilateral Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma Following Treatment with Topiramate for Headache”, Neurology and therapy, vol. 2, no. 1-2, pp. 57-62, 2013.
Contact Information
Email: uraychau@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-6574
Address: 825 Hlth. Sci. Rd -Med. Sci. I D426B
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Last updated on 4/9/2026.