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Adaikala Antonysunil

Adaikala Antonysunil

Senior Lecturer

School of Science & Technology

Staff Group(s)
Bioscience

Role

Dr Adaikala Antonysunil is a Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at the School of Science and Technology, with an interdisciplinary background spanning Nutriepigenomics, Molecular Biology, and Epidemiology. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and leads two core biochemistry modules, contributing to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Biomedical Science programmes.

Dr Antonysunil’s research focuses on the role of micronutrients in metabolic diseases, with a particular emphasis on obesity during pregnancy. She has made significant contributions to understanding how micronutrient status, especially vitamin B12, influences metabolic health. Her work integrates data from clinical cohorts, public health datasets, and the PRiDE biobank to investigate the underlying epigenetic mechanisms. This research underpins the development of early preventive strategies for pregnancy-related metabolic disorders, with the aim of improving long-term health outcomes for both mothers and their offspring.

Career overview

Dr Antonysunil completed her master’s degree in medical Biochemistry and pursued a PhD through one of the largest systematic, population-based epidemiological studies involving 2,500 participants, focusing on oxidative damage in diabetes through biomarker analysis and mechanistic insights. She undertook her postdoctoral research at the University of Essex, UK, exploring complications in diabetes, and later at the University of Warwick, where she developed specialised expertise in protein oxidation biomarkers and B-vitamin metabolism. Building on her analytical experience in diabetes and nutritional biomarkers, Dr Antonysunil transitioned into investigating gene–nutrient interactions and their influence on metabolic disease outcomes, with a particular focus on the epigenetic mechanisms of vitamin B12 in cardiovascular risk. With support from both internal and external funding bodies including the Diabetes Research Wellness Foundation (DRWF), BBSRC-DTP, RoseTrees Trust, and the Society of Endocrinology, she established an independent research laboratory to explore the mechanistic role of B12 in obesity and gestational diabetes. Dr Antonysunil is driven by the belief that understanding the impact of micronutrients on maternal and neonatal health can offer novel strategies to reduce the burden of metabolic disease across generations.

Research areas

Dr Antonysunil’s research focuses on Nutriepigenomics, how dietary nutrients, particularly micronutrients influence health via epigenetic modifications. Her clinical and basic science studies highlight the impact of maternal B12 deficiency on fetal growth, gestational diabetes, childhood adiposity, and long-term metabolic risk. Her pioneering work has demonstrated that B12 deficiency is linked to adverse lipid profiles and epigenetic changes affecting insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism.

Key Research Areas:

  • Epigenetic and epitranscriptomic changes in metabolic tissues (adipose, liver, placenta), including multi-omics integration (RNA-seq, RRBS, miRNA-seq)
  • Tissue derived-EVs (extracellular vesicles) and their cargo miRNAs in metabolic signalling during pregnancy and fetal development
  • One-carbon metabolomics as early pregnancy biomarkers
  • Mechanistic studies on B12 and metformin

Current PhD students:

  • Abha Abha
  • Jasmin Simpson

PhD at NTU:

Opportunities arise to carry out postgraduate research towards a PhD in the areas identified above. Further information may be obtained on the NTU Research Degrees website www.ntu.ac.uk/research/research-degrees-at-ntu. Any queries, please email Adaikala Antonysunil.

External activity

Member of Professional Societies:

  1. CluB12
  2. Society for Endocrinology
  3. Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)
  4. Diabetes UK
  5. Biochemical Society
  6. European association for the study of diabetes (EASD)

Outreach Activities:

Dr Antonysunil is deeply committed to public engagement and science communication, actively working to ensure that her research reaches and benefits communities beyond academia. She integrates public and patient perspectives into her metabolic disease research, strengthening its relevance and real-world impact. By fostering dialogue between researchers, patients, and the wider public, she aims to co-create solutions that address pressing health challenges and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, particularly mothers and their children.

Patient/Public Engagement:

  1. Festival of Science and Curiosity (FOSAC), Nottingham, 2024, 2025 - Science activities for school aged children and young generation to promote STEM education
  2. Soapbox Science event, Nottingham City Centre’s Speaker’s Corner, 2024
  3. United through Diabetes, DRWF, Warwick 2024
  4. BBC Radio – Interview on Soapbox event representing NTU, 2024
  5. Rushcliffe Diabetes Group and Diabetes UK Youth Coordination, 2023

Academic Leadership:

  1. Member of Grant Review panel, Society of Endocrinology - 2025
  2. Editorial board member, Topical advisory panel, International journal of medical science - IJMS journal - Impact factor 4.9; Guest Editor – Two special editions 2020-2024
  3. Metabolic Theme Lead for the Patient-Public Involvement (PPI) LEAP (Listen, Engage and Analyse with the Public) Program, NTU, 2024

Sponsors and collaborators

Research Grants:

  • Diabetes Research Wellness Foundation (PI), 2024-2026, Integrated omics to identify the epitranscriptomic interactions between methyl modifications of mature miRNAs and transcriptome in placenta due to micronutrient (B12) deficiency promoting diabetes in pregnancy
  • BBSRC DTP, In Vivo Strategic Skills Award (CoI), 2023-2025, Parental dietary vitamin B12 and folate deficiency: defining epigenetic mechanisms underlying offspring cardio-metabolic health
  • BBSRC DTP studentship (PI), 2022-2026, Parental dietary vitamin B12 and folate deficiency: defining epigenetic mechanisms underlying offspring cardio-metabolic health
  • RoseTrees Trust (PI), 2017-2019, Does targeted first trimester one-carbon metabolomics predict gestational diabetes mellitus?
  • Society of Endocrinology (PI), 2014-2015, Does placental leptin adapt to low maternal vitamin B12 during pregnancy?

Publications

PERIYATHAMBI, N., SUKUMAR, N., GHEBREMICHAEL-WELDESELASSIE, Y., ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., YAJNIK, C., FALL, C. and SARAVANAN, P., 2025. Maternal serum folate status during early pregnancy: sex-specific association with neonatal adiposity. Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews, 19 (3): 103222. ISSN 1871-4021

SAMAVAT, J., BOACHIE, J., MCTERNAN, P.G., CHRISTIAN, M., SARAVANAN, P. and ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., 2025. Maternal B12 deficiency during pregnancy dysregulates fatty acid metabolism and induces inflammation in human adipose tissue. BMC Medicine, 23 (1): 232. ISSN 1741-7015

BOACHIE, J., ZAMMIT, V., SARAVANAN, P. and ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., 2023. Metformin inefficiency to lower lipids in vitamin B12 deficient HepG2 cells is alleviated via adiponectin-AMPK axis. Nutrients, 15 (24): 5046. ISSN 2072-6643

RABBANI, N., ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., LARKIN, J.R., PANAGIOTOPOULOS, S., MACISAAC, R.J., YUE, D.K., FULCHER, G.R., ROBERTS, M.A., THOMAS, M., EKINCI, E. and THORNALLEY, P.J., 2022. Analysis of serum advanced glycation endproducts reveals methylglyoxal-derived advanced glycation MG-H1 free adduct is a risk marker in non-diabetic and diabetic chronic kidney disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24 (1): 152. ISSN 1661-6596

OGUNKOLADE, B.W., ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., CARDOSO, S.R., LOWE, R., PATEL, N., RAKYAN, V., FINER, S., WABITSCH, M., SARAVANAN, P., TRIPATHI, G., BOCHUKOVA, E. and HITMAN, G.A., 2021. An integrative epi-transcriptomic approach identifies the human cartilage chitinase 3-like protein 2 (CHI3L2) as a potential mediator of B12 deficiency in adipocytes. Epigenetics. ISSN 1559-2294

SARAVANAN, P., SUKUMAR, N., ADAIKALAKOTESWARI, A., GOLJAN, I., VENKATARAMAN, H., GOPINATH, A., BAGIAS, C., YAJNIK, C.S., STALLARD, N., GHEBREMICHAEL-WELDESELASSIE, Y. and FALL, C.H.D., 2021. Association of maternal vitamin B12 and folate levels in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes: a prospective UK cohort study (PRiDE study). Diabetologia. ISSN 0012-186X

See all of Adaikala Antonysunil's publications...

Press expertise

Press release:

Latest research in BMC Medicine, 2025:

  1. The Conversation: How vitamin B12 deficiency may disrupt pregnant women’s bodies
  2. NTU news release:Vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnancy could pose metabolic health risk
  3. NTU Newsreel video: Vitamin B12 deficiency in pregnancy could pose metabolic health risk

Low vitamin B12 in pregnancy may raise offspring's diabetes risk:

Tap the telomere in type 2 diabetes patients:

My UN Sustainable Development Goals

Modern dietary transitions have contributed to a growing global health concern known as “hidden hunger”, a state in which calorie intake is sufficient, but essential vitamins and micronutrients are lacking, impairing optimal health. Dr Antonysunil’s research addresses this pressing issue by investigating the role of micronutrients in metabolic diseases, with a particular focus on obesity during pregnancy. This evolving nutritional challenge underscores the relevance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger – aiming to end hunger, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture; and
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – striving to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

By exploring the epigenetic mechanisms underlying micronutrient-related health outcomes, Dr Antonysunil’s research supports the development of early, targeted interventions to reduce the burden of metabolic disease and improve lifelong health for both mothers and their children.

2 - Zero Hunger Badge 3 - Good Health and Well-Being Badge