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Biography

Dr. Niladri Kumar Mahato (MBBS, MS, DNB, Ph.D.) comes from a coal mining, industrial community nestled in the plateaus of eastern India. He earned his medical degree from the University of Calcutta, India, in 1997, followed by his master’s and diplomate degrees from Gujarat and New Delhi, completed in 2003 and 2005, respectively. After a few years of clinical practice, Dr. Mahato decided to move to basic science teaching and research following his love for academia.

In 2011, Dr. Mahato was accepted into the biomedical sciences doctoral program at Ohio University (Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute). His dissertation (American Osteopathic Association funded) explored innovative application of MRI to study spine kinematics. He also worked on key NIH/NIA funded projects and clinical trials under the mentorship of Professor Brian C. Clark. After graduating in 2016, he continued his post-doctoral research at the same institute.

Dr. Mahato’s research on spine anomalies, clinical anatomy, and neuro-muscular physiology has resulted in major scientific publications, including an invited chapter in the Bergman's Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation, has attracted popular media coverage including the Scientific American and in being nominated among American Physiological Society’s ‘APS-select’ original research articles in 2014.

Prior to joining ºÚÁÏÍø, Dr. Mahato served as an assistant professor of anatomy at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (HCOM) in Athens, Ohio. With several years of involvement in medical education, Dr. Mahato’s passion, innovation in teaching-learning methods and his commitment to the success of his students have frequently been recognized and rewarded, including being voted for the Osteopathic Commitment Award at HCOM.

Dr. Mahato is keenly invested in community engagement and professional outreach. He has volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity, Brain Injury Foundation of St. Louis, besides serving in committees for the Sacro-Iliac Medical Expert Group (SIMEG) and World Spine Care (WSC) non-profit organizations. He also serves as a faculty advisor for the FIRST AID book for USMLE STEP-1. For leisure, he likes to spend time with family, listen to music, read history, or hike.

Research Interests

Research Focus:

1. to investigate cortical excitability/plasticity involving neuro-muscular mechanisms in ageing-related muscle weakness and to develop innovative interventions to restore/enhance cortical engagement in attenuating ageing/disuse-related muscle weakness.
2. to study loading patterns in spine segments to characterize and predict specific structure-dysfunction relationships in low back pain.

Techniques Used:

1. NIBS (tDCS, rTMS, single/paired pulse TMS), Electrical Impedance Myography, muscle function MRI, Mirror Therapy, wireless EMG
2. Weight-bearing MRI, 3D spine modelling & morphometrics, Finite Element Analysis, Machine Learning Analytics, MATLAB

Research collaborators include Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI) at the Ohio University and the Witchger School of Engineering at MU.