Parameswaran appointed senior associate dean for research

November 27, 2023

In his new role as senior associate dean for research, Nara Parameswaran plans to continue a passion that has driven his work for many years: solving problems.

“This new role gives me the opportunity to work on more problems that are research oriented,” he said. “That’s exciting.”

In his own research, Parameswaran, PhD, who joined the College of Human Medicine in 2006, unravels the problems of sepsis and inflammatory bowel disease, specifically to understand the mechanisms involved in innate immunity and inflammation, as well as identifying potential therapeutic targets.

Parameswaran trained as a veterinarian at Madras Veterinary College in India, earned a master’s degree in veterinary physiology and pharmacology from Ohio State University, and a PhD in physiology from Michigan State University. He joined the MSU faculty after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University.

At MSU, he has spent many years mentoring students and conducting studies continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. He is internationally recognized for his research into the cellular and biochemical mechanisms underlying inflammatory diseases and potential treatments. That includes understanding how bacteria in the gut influences diseases, such as osteoporosis.

His studies have been published in more than 95 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and he has won numerous awards and honors. In 2020, Parameswaran was appointed associate dean for faculty affairs and staff administration in the College of Human Medicine.

In his new role overseeing research, he succeeds Walter Esselman, PhD, who was appointed to the position of associate vice president for the MSU Office of Research and Innovation.

His goals in his new position, Parameswaran said, “are to make sure the faculty have all the resources they need to be successful in research. We have to be strategic in how we are going to grow our research programs.”

In addition to his administrative duties, Parameswaran said he plans to continue some aspects of his own research while also doing some teaching and mentoring students.

“I love teaching,” he said. “It keeps me grounded. It’s always so much fun to watch them grow.”