
- Ph D, University of Kentucky;
- MS, University of Kentucky;
Dr. Mahesh Narayanan Nair is an Assistant Professor (Meat Science) in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. He was born and raised in the southern part of India and received his bachelors in veterinary medicine from Kerala Agricultural University, India. Mahesh then moved to the United States and completed his training in meat science from the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at University of Kentucky.
Mahesh’s research focuses primarily on the fundamental aspects of fresh meat quality, employing proteomic and mass spectrometric tools. Furthermore, his research interests include postmortem muscle biochemistry, the role of mitochondria in meat quality, as well as the interactions between myoglobin redox stability and lipid oxidation. He has authored more than 45 scientific publications, including 17 peer-reviewed journal articles and 2 book chapters. In his current role as a faculty member at CSU, Dr. Nair plans to continue his research in fresh meat quality and develop new courses in the area of meat science. He also enjoys interacting with students and educating them in the area of meat safety and quality and its application in the meat industry.
Thompson, Tyler W, Geornaras, Ifigenia, Delmore, Robert J, McFarlane, Brian J, Belk, Keith E, Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, (2020) Investigating the etiology of sour knuckles in postchilled beef carcasses Meat and Muscle Biology 4 1 35, 1-9
Davis, Haley Elizabeth, Geornaras, Ifigenia, Lindstrom, Valerie Alissa, Chaparro, Jacqueline Michelle, Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, Delmore, Robert J, Engle, Terry E, Belk, Keith E, Prenni, Jessica E, (2020) Effects of differing withdrawal times from ractopamine hydrochloride on residue concentrations of beef muscle, adipose tissue, rendered tallow, and large intestine PLoS ONE 15 12 e0242673
Zhai, Chaoyu, Delmore, Bob J, Geornaras, Ifigenia, Speidel, Scott E, Holt, Timothy N, Thomas, Milt, Enns, Mark Mark, Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, (2020) "Pulmonary arterial pressure in cattle influences beef color during retail display" Journal of Animal Science 98 Supplement 4 363
Zhai, Chaoyu, Djimsa, Blanchefort A., Brown, Kitty, Prenni, Jessica E, Woerner, Dale Ray, Belk, Keith, Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, (2020) Tandem mass tagged dataset used to characterize muscle-specific proteome changes in beef during early postmortem period Data in Brief 32 106064
Ramanathan, R., Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, Hunt, M. C., Suman, S. P., (2019) Mitochondrial functionality and beef color: A review of recent research South African Journal of Animal Science
Zhai, Chaoyu, Peckham, Kiefer, Belk, Keith, Ramanathan, Ranjith, Nair, Mahesh N., (2019) Carbon Chain Length of Lipid Oxidation Products Influence Lactate Dehydrogenase and NADH-Dependent Metmyoglobin Reductase Activity Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 67 48 13327-13332
Nair, MN, Li, S, Beach, CM, Rentfrow, G, Suman, SP, (2018) Changes in the sarcoplasmic proteome of beef muscles with differential color stability during postmortem aging Meat and Muscle Biology 2 1–17
Cai, K, Shao, W, Chen, X, Campbell, YL, Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Beach, CM, Guyton, MC, Schilling, MW, (2018) Meat quality traits and proteome profile of woody broiler breast (pectoralis major) meat Poultry science 97 1 337-346
Nair, MN, Li, S, Beach, CM, Rentfrow, G, Suman, SP, (2018) "Proteomic changes in the sarcoplasmic fraction of three differentially color stable beef muscles during aging" American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting 22448
Zhai, Chaoyu, Suman, SP, Narayanan Nair, Mahesh, Li, S, Luo, X, Beach, CM, Harsh, BN, Boler, DD, Dilger, AC, Shike, DW, (2018) Supranutritional supplementation of vitamin E influences mitochondrial proteome profile of postmortem longissimus lumborum from feedlot heifers South African Journal of Animal Science 48 6 1140-1147
Suman, SP, Nair, MN, (2017) "Current Developments in Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Meat Color" Elsevier, New Aspects of Meat Quality: From Genes to Ethics 115–127
Nair, MN, Ramanathan, R, Rentfrow, G, Suman, SP, (2017) Intramuscular variation in mitochondrial functionality of beef semimembranosus South African Journal of Animal Science 47 5 635-639
Schilling, MW, Suman, SP, Zhang, X, Nair, MN, Desai, MA, Cai, K, Ciaramella, MA, Allen, PJ, (2017) Proteomic approach to characterize biochemistry of meat quality defects Meat Science 132 131-138
Nair, MN, Costa-Lima, BRC, Schilling, MW, Suman, SP, (2017) "Proteomics of Color in Fresh Muscle Foods" Elsevier, Proteomics in Food Science: From Farm to Fork 163-175
Wu, J, Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Li, S, Luo, X, Beach, CM, Bohrer, BM, Boler, DD, (2017) Ractopamine-induced changes in sarcoplasmic proteome profile of post-rigor pork semimembranosus muscle South African Journal of Animal Science 47 5 640-647
Canto, ACVCS, Costa-Lima, BRC, Suman, SP, Monteiro, MLG, Viana, FM, Salim, APAA, Nair, MN, Silva, TJP, Conte-Junior, CA, (2016) Color attributes and oxidative stability of longissimus lumborum and psoas major muscles from Nellore bulls Meat science 121 19-26
Ciaramella, MA, Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Allen, PJ, Schilling, MW, (2016) Differential abundance of muscle proteome in cultured channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) subjected to ante-mortem stressors and its impact on fillet quality Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics 20 10-18
Suman, SP, Nair, MN, Joseph, P, Hunt, MC, (2016) Factors influencing internal color of cooked meats Meat science 120 133-144
Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Chatli, MK, Li, S, Joseph, P, Beach, CM, Rentfrow, G, (2016) Proteome basis for intramuscular variation in color stability of beef semimembranosus Meat science 113 9-16
Desai, MA, Jackson, V, Zhai, W, Suman, SP, Nair, MN, Beach, CM, Schilling, MW`, (2016) Proteome basis of pale, soft, and exudative-like (PSE-like) broiler breast (Pectoralis major) meat Poultry science 95 11 2696-2706
Joseph, P, Nair, MN, Suman, SP, (2015) Application of proteomics to characterize and improve color and oxidative stability of muscle foods Food Research International 76 938-945
Canto, ACVCS, Suman, SP, Nair, MN, Li, S, Rentfrow, G, Beach, CM, Silva, TJP, Wheeler, TL, Shackelford, SD, Grayson, A, McKeith, RO, King, DA, (2015) Differential abundance of sarcoplasmic proteome explains animal effect on beef Longissimus lumborum color stability Meat science 102 90-98
Suman, SP, Rentfrow, G, Nair, MN, Joseph, P, (2014) 2013 EARLY CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD—Proteomics of muscle-and species-specificity in meat color stability Journal of animal science 92 3 875-882
Suman, SP, Hunt, MC, Nair, MN, Rentfrow, G, (2014) Improving beef color stability: Practical strategies and underlying mechanisms Meat science 98 3 490-504
Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Li, S, Joseph, P, Beach, CM, (2014) Lipid oxidation–induced oxidation in emu and ostrich myoglobins Meat science 96 2 984-993
Nair, MN, Suman, SP, Li, S, Ramanathan, R, Mancini, RA, (2014) Temperature-and pH-dependent effect of lactate on in vitro redox stability of red meat myoglobins Meat science 96 1 408-412