Udai Pandey, PhD

Dr. Udai Pandey is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh and serves as Director of CNI. His research program focuses on uncovering molecular mechanisms underlying human neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and rare pediatric neurological diseases.

Dr. Pandey received his PhD in Medical Genetics and did his postdoctoral training in neurobiology under Dr. J. Paul Taylor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he developed expertise in Drosophila genetics and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

The Pandey laboratory integrates animal models (Drosophila and mouse), mammalian cell cultures, induced pluripotent stem cells, and patient samples to investigate how dysfunction of RNA-binding proteins contributes to neuronal degeneration and developmental disorders. The central focus of Dr. Pandey’s work is understanding how RNA-binding proteins, including FUS, TDP-43, and Matrin-3, drive disease through altered RNA metabolism, stress granule dynamics, and disrupted cellular homeostasis. His research has identified key genetic modifiers of neurodegeneration and revealed mechanistic links between the ubiquitin–proteasome system and autophagy, establishing foundational concepts in protein quality control biology.

In addition, his group has discovered and characterized novel neurogenetic syndromes caused by mutations in genes such as GEMIN5, GEMIN4, and KDM2A, combining genomic discovery with functional studies in patient-derived models to identify therapeutic targets. Several findings from his laboratory are advancing toward translational and clinical applications.

He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including Nature, Cell, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, EMBO Journal, and Nucleic Acids Research. Dr. Pandey serves as Associate Editor for Acta Neuropathologica Communications and participates regularly in NIH and international grant review panels.