Overview

Shanthi Srinivasan, MD completed her medical training at Wayne State University, School of Medicine (Detroit) and completed her residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan. She continued her gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University, St. Louis. Following this, Dr. Srinivasan served on the faculty at Washington University, St. Louis for two years. She joined the faculty at Emory University in 2003. Her research training at the University of Michigan and at Washington University focused on neurobiology and diabetes. Her clinical interest is in gastrointestinal motility disorders with a focus on diabetes and how it affects gastrointestinal motility. She is involved in teaching medical students (Yr 2) and graduate students in Emory University's neuroscience program.

Dr. Srinivasan's laboratory focuses on the factors affecting the survival and differentiation of the Enteric Nervous System (ENS). The ENS is an integrated network of neurons and glia within the wall of the gut that consists of the myenteric and submucosal plexus. Studies in her laboratory are performed in primary culture system of isolated rat embryonic enteric neuronal cells. During normal development, signaling through the Ret transmembrane tyrosine kinase is essential for the survival, proliferation and the extension of neuronal processes. Glial Derived Neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a growth factor that acts through Ret. They have cultured enteric neurons in the presence and absence of GDNF and performed a microarray analysis to determine the genes up regulated and down regulated by GDNF. These experiments have provided clues to the new genes that are involved in GDNF mediated enteric neuronal survival and proliferation. Dr. Srinivasan's lab plans to pursue the mechanism of each of these genes on enteric neuronal survival and proliferation. Using the growth factor, Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), she studies the genes that are upregulated and downregulated in response to GDNF, in primary cultured enteric neurons. She also studies the effects of diabetes on enteric neurons in culture and in vivo using animal models of diabetes such as the streptozotocin-model of diabetes. More recent projects in Dr. Srinivasan's laboratory focus on the role of the enteric nervous system in inflammatory bowel disease. They also have some new findings on the enteric nervous system influencing islet beta cell survival.

The other main focus of her laboratory is how diabetes affects the enteric nervous system and thereby altering gastrointestinal motility. Injury to enteric neurons in the setting of diabetes may include neuronal cell death as well as injury to axonal processes. The mechanisms by which diabetes causes neuronal injury are, however, poorly understood. The effects of diabetes on the ENS are examined in vivo using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and in vitro using primary cultures of enteric neurons. In animal models of diabetes, such as the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, they have evidence for enteric neuronal degeneration in diabetic rats. They plan to examine the mechanism of enteric neuronal apoptosis in diabetic rats using tools such as confocal microscopy and laser capture microscopy. To correlate the changes seen in animal models of diabetes, they will examine the effects of glucose on primary culture of enteric neurons. Their studies demonstrate that elevated glucose levels also cause increased apoptosis of enteric neurons in culture. They plan to dissect out the molecular mechanisms by which elevated glucose levels injure enteric neurons. Identifying the mechanism of changes in the enteric nervous system seen in diabetes can help Dr. Srinivasan's team to develop new targets for the treatment of the gastrointestinal motility disorders seen in this disease.

Her clinical interest is in gastrointestinal motility disorders with a focus on diabetes and how it affects gastrointestinal motility. Currently, her clinical responsibilities are at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, where she serves as chief of the GI unit.

Dr. Srinivasan is involved in teaching gastrointestinal pathophysiology to medical students (Years 2 and 3). She teaches gastrointestinal motility related disorder to internal medicine residents and gastroenterology fellows. She also teaches graduate students in the neuroscience program about the enteric nervous system.

Academic Appointment

• Division Director, Emory University School of Medicine
• Distinguished Physician, Emory University School of Medicine
• Professor, Digestive Diseases, Emory University

Education

Research