Dr. Chitraa Tangavel is a Senior Scientist and the Research Director of the Ganga Research Centre (GRC), Ganga Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation (GOREF), Coimbatore.
With extensive experience spanning academia, research, and industry, she has played a decisive role in conceptualizing, establishing, and expanding one of India’s most advanced laboratories for high-throughput proteomics, metabolomics, and molecular spine research.
Her multidisciplinary background enabled her to build state-of-the-art mass-spectrometry and multi-omics platforms, positioning GOREF as a national hub for translational disc biology.
She pioneered basic research in intervertebral disc diseases at GRC and strategically secured major government grants, including DBT-CoE and ICMR-funded initiatives, which catalyzed the development of large-scale clinical and molecular datasets on disc degeneration and Modic changes.
Under her leadership, the laboratory generated the first comprehensive proteomic signatures of normal, fetal, and degenerative discs in India. Her preliminary proteomics investigations led to a fundamental methodological correction in the field, recommending cadaver organ-donor IVD tissues as the true biological controls instead of scoliosis discs, a shift that has since been adopted by collaborating institutions.
Dr. Chitraa’s scientific direction established several key research milestones at GOREF. She developed integrated workflows combining proteomics, metabolomics, and metagenomics; optimized extraction and digestion SOPs for NP, AF, and CEP tissues; and led the discovery of complement-driven inflammatory pathways in Modic changes through tissue–plasma proteomic comparison.
Her group’s work significantly advanced understanding of ECM homeostasis, immune activation, and systemic reflections of disc degeneration. She also expanded the research portfolio into disc microbiome analysis, contributing critical data to the ongoing debate on microbial versus sterile inflammation in degenerative disc disease. Recognizing the need for mechanistic validation, she spearheaded the establishment of a full-fledged cell culture facility at GOREF, enabling functional assays using NP and AF cells to validate OMICS findings in vitro.
Her leadership has been pivotal in training the next generation of spine researchers, having mentored more than 50 students through workshops, hands-on programs, and collaborative projects. Through her vision and sustained scientific rigor, Dr. Chitraa Tangavel has transformed GOREF into a recognized center for spine-focused biomedical research and has laid the foundation for multiple high-impact studies on disc degeneration, Modic changes, systemic biomarkers, and multi-omics–driven translational discoveries.
