Raj Logan PhD

My lab studies gene regulatory networks and cell physiological mechanisms that direct animal development with a focus on tube morphogenesis and maintenance. (In other words, we study how biological tubes form and how they are maintained.) The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is our model system.  Our multidisciplinary work is composed of two research programs and uses methods from genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. 

• Developmental Dynamics-The questions that drive our developmental dynamics research projects aim to determine the key components of Drosophila matrisome that direct tubulogenesis in the embryo. 
• Integrative Systems Biology-The questions that motivate our cell systems biology initiative explore the effects of exercise physiology on stem cell dynamics.  We ask how exercise affects stem cell health by focusing on the cellular and extracellular mechanisms that calibrate stem cell homeostasis in response to systemic training adaptations.

• Teaching Interests: Cell and Developmental Biology
• Teaching Experience: Cell Physiology (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine); Neurophysiology (University of Kansas School of Medicine)
• WSU Courses: Biol 101 (Explore-BIO), Biol 210 (General Biology I), Biol 545 (Human Embryology), and Biol 645 (Discoveries in Developmental Biology)

Research Articles, Reviews, and Editorials

• Organogenetic transcriptomes of the Drosophila embryo at single cell resolution.
  Development (2024); Jan 15; 151(2) DOI: 10.1242/dev.202097.
  Peng, D., Jackson, D., Palicha, B., Kernfeld, E., Laughner, N., Shoemaker, A., Celniker, S.E., Loganathan, R., Cahan, P., Andrew, D.J.
• Extracellular Matrix Dynamics in Biology, Bioengineering, and Pathology (Volume-II).
  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (2022). Dec 2; 10: 1105566.
  Loganathan, R., Yanagisawa, H., Gentleman, E., Little, C. D., Weiss, J. A.
• Ribbon boosts ribosomal protein gene expression to coordinate organ form and function.
  Journal of Cell Biology (2022) Apr 4; 221(4) DOI:  10.1083/jcb.20211073
  Loganathan, R., Levings, D.C., Kim, J.H., Wells, M.B., Chiu, H., Wu, H., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
• Secrets of secretion-how studies of the Drosophila salivary gland have informed our understanding of the cellular networks underlying secretory organ form and function. Current Topics in Developmental Biology (2021), Volume 143.
  Loganathan, R., J.H. Wells, M.B., Andrew, D.J.
• Extracellular Matrix Dynamics in Biology, BIoengineering, and Pathology
  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (2020).  Aug 21; 8: 759.
  Loganathan, R., Little, C.D., Rongish, B.J.

• Extracellular matrix dynamics in tubulogenesis
  Cell Signal (2020), 72: 109619.
  Loganathan, R., Rongish, B.J., Little, C.D.
• CrebA increases secretory capacity through direct transcriptional regulation of the secretory machinery, a subset of secretory cargo, and other key regulators
  Traffic (2020, 21 (9), 560-577.
  Johnson, D.M., Wells, M.B., Fox, R., Lee, J.S., Loganathan, R., Levings, D., Bastien, A., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
• Organogenesis of the Drosophila respiratory system 
  Organogenetic gene networks (2016), pp. 151-211.
  Loganathan, R., Cheng, Y. L., Andrew, D.J.
• Ribbon regulates morphogenesis of the Drosophila embryonic salivary gland through transcriptional activation and repression 
  Developmental Biology (2016), 409 (1), 234-50.
  Loganathan, R., Lee, J.S., Wells, M.B., Grevengoed, E., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
• Extracellular matrix motion and early morphogenesis
  Development (2016), 143 (12), 2056-2065.
  Loganathan, R., Rongish, B.J., Smith, C.M., Filla, M.B., Czirok, A., Bénazéraf, B., Little, C.D.
• Identification of emergent motion compartments in the amniote embryo
  Organogenesis (2014), 10 (4), 350-364.
  Loganathan, R., Little, C.D., Joshi, P., Filla, M.B., Cheuvront, T.J., Lansford, R., Rongish, B.J.
• The role of sleep in motor learning
  Journal of Postdoctoral Research (2014), 2(4), 18-29.
  Loganathan, R.
• Spatial anisotropies and temporal fluctuations in the extracellular matrix network texture during early embryogenesis
  PLOS ONE (2012), 7 (5): e38266.
  Loganathan, R., Potetz, B.R., Rongish, B.J., Little, C.D. (2012).
• Exercise induced cardiac performance in autoimmune (type 1) diabetes is associated with a decrease in myocardial diacylglycerol
  Journal of Applied Physiology (2012), 113 (5), 817-826.
  Loganathan, R., Novikova, L., Boulatnikov, I., Smirnova, I.V.
• Time–dependent alterations in rat macrovessels with type 1 diabetes
  Experimental Diabetes Research (2012), 278620.
  Searls, Y., Smirnova, I.V., Vanhoose, L., Fegley, B., Loganathan, R., Stehno-Bittel, L.
• Electrocardiographic changes with the onset of diabetes and the impact of aerobic exercise training in the Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat
  Cardiovascular Diabetology (2010), 9:56.
  VanHoose, L., Sawers, Y., Loganathan, R., Vacek, J.L., Stehno-Bittel, L., Novikova, L., Al-Jarrah, M., Smirnova, I.V.
• Intracellular Ca2+ regulating proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells are altered with type1 diabetes due to the direct effects of hyperglycemia
  Cardiovascular Diabetology (2010), 9:8.
  Searls, Y.M., Loganathan, R., Smirnova, I.V., Stehno-Bittel, L.
• Exercise training improves cardiac performance in diabetes: in vivo demonstration with quantitative cine-MRI analyses
  Journal of Applied Physiology (2007), 102 (2), 665-672.
  Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Zhero, S.V., Alenezy, M.D., Smirnova, I.V.
• Exercise induced benefits in individuals with type 1 diabetes
  Physical Therapy Reviews (2006), 11, 77-89.
  Loganathan, R., Searls, Y., Smirnova, I.V., Stehno-Bittel, L.
• Cardiac dysfunction in the diabetic rat: Quantitative evaluation using high resolution magnetic resonance imaging
  Cardiovascular Diabetology (2006), 5:7.
  Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Alenezy, M.D., Smirnova, I.V.
• Characterization of alterations in diabetic myocardial tissue using high resolution MRI
  International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging (2006), 22 (1), 81-90.
  Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Smirnova I.V.
• CXCL-10 induced cell death in neurons: Role of calcium dysregulation
  European Journal of Neuroscience (2006), 23 (4), 957-64.
  Sui, Y., Stehno-Bittel, L., Li, S., Loganathan, R., Pinson, D., Narayan, O., Buch, S.

 

Book Chapter

 

• Significant Progress in Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease.
  Handbook of Regenerative Medicine 1^st Edition (2025). CRC Press.
  Petkova, K., Neupane, P., Schmitt, S., Neupane, N., Loganathan, R., Yao, Li.

 

Books

• Extracellular Matrix Dynamics in Biology, Bioengineering, and Pathology (Volume-II)
  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (In progress).
  Loganathan, R., Yanagisawa, H., Little, C. D., Gentleman, E., Weiss, J., Eds.
• Extracellular Matrix Dynamics in Biology, Bioengineering, and Pathology (Volume-I)
  Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (2020). doi: 10.3389/978-2-88966-119-0 Loganathan, R., Little, C. D., Rongish, B. J., Eds.

2022 – present: Assistant Professor, Wichita State University
2018 – 2022: Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University
2011 – 2018: Research Fellow, Johns Hopkins University

2025: University Research/Creative Projects Awards, State of Kansas.

2025: National Science Foundation, Major Research Instrumentation Program, Track 1.

2024: National Institutes of Health, R16 Support for Research Excellence—First Independent Research (SuRE-First) Award.

2023: Developmental Research Project Program, Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE).

2022: Faculty Recruitment Package Program, Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE).

2022: Multidisciplinary Research Project Award (MURPA), Wichita State University. 

2021: Johns Hopkins Core Coins Pilot Grant for Genome Research.

2016: Johns Hopkins Core Coins Pilot Grant for Proteomics Research.

2006: American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship.

Session Co-Chair – “Patterning, Morphogenesis, and Organogenesis,” 66^th Annual Drosophila Meeting, Genetics Society of America

Editorial Board, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, (Section on Embryonic Development)

Editorial Board – Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (section on cell growth and division)

Guest Associate Editor – Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (section on cell adhesion and migration)

Session Co-Chair – “Patterning, Morphogenesis, and Organogenesis,” 63rd Annual Drosophila Meeting, Genetics Society of America

Session Co-Chair – “The Dynamic Extracellular Matrix,” 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Anatomy

Invited Panelist – The Future of Research Symposium (2019) by the University of Maryland/Johns Hopkins University/Elsevier