Postdoctoral Associates
Manoj Madheswaran
Gaurav Sharma
Research Focus: My research focuses on applying advanced magnetic resonance techniques—such as deuterium MRI and NMR spectroscopy—to investigate metabolic dysfunction in diseases like MASLD and Type 1 Diabetes. I am particularly interested in using stable isotope tracers to non-invasively monitor metabolic flux in vivo and to identify early biomarkers of disease progression. By integrating magnetic resonance methods with complementary tools such as mass spectrometry, I aim to develop a comprehensive understanding of metabolic alterations in various pathological states.
I joined Dr. Merritt’s lab to broaden my expertise in metabolic imaging and contribute to translational research at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and medicine. My background includes NMR-based metabolomics and natural product chemistry, with prior experience in identifying bioactive compounds using solution-state NMR and probing tissue metabolism through HR-MAS NMR. Working in Dr. Merritt’s lab has enabled me to apply these skills in vivo while gaining hands-on experience with advanced imaging techniques, tracer-based studies, and computational data analysis.
Graduate Students
Max Glanz
Garrett Knotts
Email: arushin@ufl.edu
Anna Rushin, B.S.
Research Focus: My research focuses on understanding disease metabolism using a range of techniques and disease models. I am applying deuterium metabolic imaging to patient-derived xenograft mouse models of glioblastoma. Alongside the imaging, I am characterizing glucose metabolism in glioblastoma cells from multiple patients using NMR and GC-MS. Separately, I am also examining pancreatic islet metabolism using live pancreas slices from mice and organ donors to gain insight into Type 1 Diabetes pathogenesis.
I chose to join the Merritt lab for the people and the range of research techniques and applications available. My background is in molecular biology and biochemistry, where I developed interests in cell signaling and metabolism, but I am particularly fascinated by applied biomedical research. My projects allow me to apply metabolic techniques such as NMR and GC-MS to cancer and diabetes research. Additionally, joining the Merritt lab has also enabled me to gain experience with coding, highly technical procedures, and in vivo imaging.
Other
Arshee Badar