Manjula Mahata, Ph.D.

Dr. Manjula Mahata is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of CgA Therapeuticals, Inc., where she leads the company's scientific and translational research programs focused on developing catestatin (CST)-based peptide and peptidomimetic therapeutics. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Endocrinology from the University of Calcutta, India, in 1991, followed by advanced research training in Europe and the United States. Her research has focused extensively on chromogranin A (CgA), catestatin, and their roles in health and disease.

Dr. Mahata is a co-discoverer of catestatin (CST; human CgA352–372), a naturally occurring bioactive peptide derived from chromogranin A. She has extensive expertise in CST physiology and pathophysiology and has contributed to studies defining its cardiovascular, metabolic, inflammatory, gastrointestinal, and neurobiological functions. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and has authored multiple reviews and book chapters on chromogranin A and catestatin.

As CSO, Dr. Mahata directs the scientific development of CgA Therapeuticals' CST-based therapeutic pipeline. She is the Contact Principal Investigator of the company's newly funded NIH/NIDDK SBIR Phase I award (1R43DK148298-01), “Peptide and Peptidomimetic Therapy for Gastroparesis.” The program is advancing CST and next generation peptidomimetics as potential therapies for gastroparesis and represents an important step in translating decades of fundamental CST biology toward therapeutic development.

Dr. Mahata is also leading and contributing to the development of a broader portfolio of CST-based therapeutic candidates, including native CST (21-mer), naturally occurring human CST variants, retro-inverso CST (RI-CST), D-amino-acid CST derivatives, and other next-generation peptide and peptidomimetic candidates. These programs are being investigated across gastrointestinal, cardiometabolic, and neurodegenerative disorders, including gastroparesis, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular dysfunction, and Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies.

Through CgA Therapeuticals, Dr. Mahata's goal is to advance fundamental discoveries in chromogranin A and catestatin biology into innovative, clinically relevant therapeutics for diseases with substantial unmet medical needs.