Dr. Bhupal Bhetwal, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Dr. Bhetwal, M.Sc., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Medical Sciences and Director of the Homeostasis & Allostasis Phase 1 systems course at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. He received an M.Sc. in Human Physiology from B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal, and a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, USA. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine, where he was an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Research Scholar.

Dr. Bhetwal joined HMSOM in 2024 after serving as an Assistant Professor for eight years at the Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MUCOM) in Indianapolis, Indiana. A medical physiologist by training, he has taught and directed physiology courses at several medical schools. At HMSOM, he employs active learning strategies and enjoys co-teaching with clinical faculty using clinical cases and applications.

Dr. Bhetwal has received numerous awards for his research presentations from the American Physiological Society (APS), the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS), and regional scientific organizations. He has also served as President of the Indiana Physiological Society, a chapter organization of the APS, and remains an active member of the American Physiological Society.

His laboratory's primary research focuses on investigating altered signaling pathways in gut smooth muscle tissues resected from patients with gastric bypass surgery, diabetic gastroparesis, and irritable bowel syndrome. His laboratory utilizes organ myobath systems with electrical stimulation devices for in vitro dose-response studies, protein assays, Western immunoblotting, cell culture, and microscopic imaging. His research incorporates animal tissues, human tissues, and cell culture models. He also studies the effects of intermittent fasting on chemotherapy sensitivity in human breast cancer cell lines. More recently, Dr. Bhetwal has expanded his research to include medical education, with a focus on cognitive overload among medical students.

Outside of the laboratory, Dr. Bhetwal enjoys working in his yard and spending time with his family fishing, kayaking, and hiking. He also participates in science outreach initiatives, including Med Science on the Go throughout New Jersey.

Education

Ph.D., Cellular & Molecular Physiology & Pharmacology, Department of Physiology & Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA.

Scholarship

• Halie E. Vitali, Bryce Kuschel, Chhiring Sherpa, Brendan W. Jones, Nisha Jacob, Syeda A. Madiha, Sam Elliott, Eddie Dziennik, Lily Kreun, Cora Conatser, Bhupal P. Bhetwal, Bikram Sharma. "Hypoxia regulate developmental coronary angiogenesis potentially through VEGF-R2- and SOX17-mediated signaling." Developmental Dynamics (2025), 174–188.
• Kamal Baral, Spandan Joshi, Adriana Lopez, Gavisha Mugon, Aroma Chanda, Arya A. Chandrasheker, Cameron Hinton, Kapil Thapa, Arissa Mercer, Leah Spade, Gang Liu, Bhupal Prasad Bhetwal, Jia Fang, Bilon Khambu. "Transcriptional changes impact hepatic proteome in autophagy-impaired liver." FEBS Open Bio 14 (2024), 1851–1863.
• Abhinav Kakuturu, Heeyun Choi, Leah G. Noe, Brianna N. Scherer, Bikram Sharma, Bilon Khambu, Bhupal P. Bhetwal. "Bitter melon extract suppresses metastatic breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cells) growth possibly by hindering glucose uptake." Micropublication Biology (2023), September 5.

Awards

• 2023 – Outstanding Biomedical Science Faculty Teaching Award, Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MUCOM).