Contact Information

The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center
601 N. Caroline Street; 7150F
Baltimore, Maryland 21287
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (443) 287-0608

Experience

Education

• Degrees

  • Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC (2017)
  • M.S. Biotechnology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (2013)
  • B.Tech/M.Tech (Integrated) Biotechnology, Dr. D. Y. Patil University, Navi Mumbai, India (2010)
• Postdoctoral Training
  • Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (2022)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (2020)
  • Postdoctoral Scientist, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus OH (2019)

Background

Dr. Menon is a faculty member in the Division of General Internal Medicine and serves as the Project Manager for the HRSA-funded Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Project in the Northeast region (SiNERGe). The goal of this demonstration project is to improve access to high quality, coordinated and comprehensive care for people living with Sickle Cell Disease within our collaborative region (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, and West Virginia). Dr. Menon is responsible for overseeing the administrative and scientific implementation of research protocols for the program. He also coordinates quality improvement activities as well as data collection and reporting, and supervises a team of Research Coordinators to ensure smooth execution of the various SiNERGe programs.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Menon managed a team of basic science researchers and was responsible for overseeing all research activities to understand the role of cellular senescence in neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease. He has also conducted basic Biomedical Science research to decipher the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular development and disease as well as to understand the crosstalk of growth hormone signaling and obesity/insulin sensitivity.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Kessler JR, Bluemn TS, DeCero SA, Dutta P, Thatcher K, Mahnke DK, Knas MC, Kazik HB, Menon V, Lincoln J. Exploring molecular profiles of calcification in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells and aortic valvular interstitial cells. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2023
• Noureddine S, Nie J, Schneider A, Menon V, Fliesen Z, Dhahbi J, Victoria B, Oyer J, Robles-Carrillo L, Nunes ADC, Ashiqueali S, Janusz A, Copik A, Robbins PD, Musi N, Masternak MM. microRNA-449a reduces growth hormone-stimulated senescent cell burden through PI3K-mTOR signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023
• Jiang, Z.; Wang, J.; Imai, D.; Snider, T.; Mangalindan, R.; Morton, J.; Zhu, L.; Salmon, A.; Wezeman, J.; Klug, J.; Hu, J.; Menon, V.; Marka, N.; Niedernhofer, L.; Ladiges, W. Short term treatment with a cocktail of rapamycin, acarbose and phenylbutyrate slows aging in mice. Scientific Reports, 2022
• Murphy, M.; Narasimhan, A.; Adrian, A.; Kumar, A.; Green, G.; Soto-Palma, C.; Henpita, C.; Camell, C.; Morrow, C.; Yeh, C.; Richardson, C.; Hill, C.; Moore, D.; McGregor, E.; Simmons, H.; Pak, H.; Bai, H.; Denu, J.; Clark, J.; Simcox, J.; Chittimalli; K.; Dahlquist, K.; Lee, K.; Calubag, M.; Bouska, M.; Yousefzadeh, M.; Sonsalla, M.; Babygirija, R.; Yuan, R.; Tsuji, T.; Rhoads, t.; Menon, V.; Jarajapu, Y.; Lamming, D.; Zhu, Y. Metabolism in the Midwest: Research from the Midwest Aging Consortium at the 49th Annual Meeting of theAmerican Aging Association. Geroscience. 2021.
• Menon, V.; Lincoln, J. The Genetic Regulation of Aortic Valve Development and Calcific Disease. Front Cardiovasc Med, 2018
• Prim, D.; Menon, V.; Hasanian, S.; Carter, L.; Shazly, T.; Potts, J.; Eberth, J. Perfusion tissue culture initates differential remodeling of internal thoracic arteries, radial arteries, and saphenous veins. J Vasc Res, 2018.
• Menon, V.; Eberth, J.; Junor, L.; Belhaj, M.; Jenkins, M.; Potts, J. Removing vessel constriction on the embryonic heart results in changes in valve gene expression, morphology and hemodynamics. Dev. Dyn, 2018.
• Menon, V.; Junor, L.; Eberth, J.; Ford, S.; McPheeters, M.; Jenkins, M.; Belhaj, M.; Potts, J. Molecular consequences of cardiac valve development as a result of altered hemodynamics. Microscopy and Microanalaysis, 2017 23(S1), 1330-1331.
• Belhaj, M; Menon, V.; Junor. L.; Potts, J. Alginate microcapsule techonology and impacts on cell therapy development. Microscopy and Microanalaysis, 2017 23(S1), 1214-1215.
• Gesing, A.; Wiesenborn, D.; Do, A.; Menon, V.; Schneider, A.; Victoria, B.; Stout, M.; Bartke, A.; Masternak, M.M. Long-lived df/ko double mutant mouse, lacking both growth hormone and its receptor: A new potential experimental animal model for aging studies J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2016.
• Menon, V.; Junor, L.; Eberth, J.F.; Belhaj, M.; Potts, J.D. Pathological Consequences of Altered Hemodynamics During Heart Valve Development. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2016, 22 (suppl. 3), 1062-1063.
• Menon, V.; Junor, L.; Belhaj, M.; Eberth, J.F.; Potts, J.D. A novel ex ovo banding technique to alter intracardiac hemodynamics in an embryonic chicken system. J. Vis. Exp. 2016.
• Menon, V.; Eberth, J.F.; Goodwin, R.L.; Potts, J.D. Altered hemodynamics in the embryonic heart affects outflow valve development. J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis. 2015, 2, 108-124.
• Do, A.; Menon, V.; Zhi, X.; Gesing, A.; Wiesenborn, D.S.; Spong, A.; Sun, L.; Bartke, A.; Masternak, M.M. Thyroxine modifies the effects of growth hormone in ames dwarf mice. Aging (Albany NY) 2015, 7, 241-255.
• Wiesenborn, D.S.; Menon, V.; Zhi, X.; Do, A.; Gesing, A.; Wang, Z.; Bartke, A.; Altomare, D.A.; Masternak, M.M. The effect of calorie restriction on insulin signaling in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of ames dwarf mice. Aging (Albany NY) 2014, 6, 900-912
• Menon, V.; Zhi, X.; Hossain, T.; Bartke, A.; Spong, A.; Gesing, A.; Masternak, M.M. The contribution of visceral fat to improved insulin signaling in ames dwarf mice. Aging Cell 2014, 13, 497-506