About PI

A little about Me

Hi, I’m Nadinath, a scientist, occasional sketchbook scribbler (you can see some below), and someone who believes that curiosity is one of the most underrated superpowers.

Science has taken me on quite a journey. I started out in the U.S., where I earned my B.A. in Zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University. Later, I completed my Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and New York University. After that, I moved to Germany to do my postdoctoral training at Heidelberg University, supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship.

Right now, I live in Japan, a place I’ve come to love for both its serenity and its surprises. I’m based at the WPI Human Biology-Microbiome-Quantum Research Center (WPI-Bio2Q), Keio University, where I lead a research group studying adaptations in protein quality control pathways unique to primates. These pathways keep our cells healthy by maintaining proteostasis (protein homeostasis), basically, how cells deal with damaged, misfolded or aggregated proteins. By studying these adaptations that have evolved in primates, I hope to uncover what they can teach us about aging and protein aggregation-associated diseases that effect the gut-brain axis, such as neurodegenerative diseases and dysbiosis (induced by imbalances in our gut microbiome). It’s technical, yes, but also deeply human, because it’s a way of understanding how life holds itself together, and what happens when that balance starts to slip.

When I set out to study science, I wasn’t even sure what kind of scientist I wanted to be. But I was drawn to the quiet thrill of chasing questions that didn’t have easy answers, and that curiosity eventually led me deep into the fascinating world of how our proteins and cells repair and manage to stay alive in the face of constant challenges.

Pursuing a career in academia hasn’t felt like ticking off a checklist of milestones. It’s been more like learning how to think in the dark. How to stay curious when the outcome is uncertain, how to build clarity from fragments, and how to sit with failure (real or perceived) long enough to see what it’s teaching me. But the biggest shift came when I realized that no discovery is made alone. Mentors, colleagues, and even quiet believers in your work leave fingerprints on every page of progress. It’s a reminder that science, at its best, is collaborative, generous, and built on shared effort. I’ve also come to believe that what lasts in science is the stubbornness to keep asking why, the discipline to test ideas precisely, and the honesty to know when you're wrong. These are things I try to live by.

This site is a quiet space for my work, thoughts, reflections, and the thoughts that don’t always make it into papers. When I’m not in the lab or thinking about my work, I love to sketch and paint (I must admit, it’s been a while since I’ve found a quiet space for my hobby, as life’s demands have definitely picked up), wander through streets in cities, and paths along forests. These days, I walk home after work, which relaxes my mind, and gives me an opportunity to stumble onto new corners of Tokyo. To top it off, I enjoy unwinding with friends at cozy local izakayas for a good conversation over delicate sips of 日本酒 nihonshu.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find something worth thinking about. And if you’re a fellow scientist, student, or just someone curious about this work, I’m always open to new ideas and collaborations, wherever you are in the world. And if you ever find yourself in Tokyo, feel free to get in touch. I’m always up for a quiet coffee and a good conversation.