About Tanya Malik Chawla™
I grew up around medicine. But I was never interested in managing disease.
I was interested in the question underneath it. Why does biology change?
The Question
I come from a family of doctors. But I never asked, "How do we treat this?" I kept asking something else.
That question took me into functional nutrition, nutrigenomics and epigenomics, and into the biological inputs most of us were taught to dismiss as lifestyle.
Not wellness clichés. Biological inputs.
- Why did disease appear in one person and not another?
- How much of ageing is inevitable, and how much is adaptive?
- How much of our biology is actually in our control?
The First Case
My biology became my first case study.
PCOS/PMOS. Hypothyroidism. Metabolic dysfunction. High cholesterol. So I started measuring: blood markers, hormones, insulin, body composition, biological age, muscle, recovery.
I changed the inputs. I tracked the output.
My biology remains public.
This is not a universal truth. It's an N of one. But it is a live, ongoing record: what's being measured, what the numbers say, and what's actually being done about them, updated as the protocol changes.
Chronological / Biological Age
40 vs. 27.8
Composite biological age against a panel of metabolic, cardiovascular and micronutrient markers.
| Marker | Result | Optimal Range | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fasting Insulin | 1.5 µIU/mL | <5 | Optimal |
| HbA1c | 4.4% | <5.2% | Optimal |
| Fasting Glucose | 85.8 mg/dL | <90 | Optimal |
| Marker | Result | Optimal Range | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| ApoB | 70 mg/dL | <80 | Optimal |
| HDL | 65 mg/dL | >60 | Optimal |
| Homocysteine | 9 µmol/L | <9 | At Threshold |
Homocysteine sits at threshold, read in the context of a high training load.
| Marker | Result | Optimal Range | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D | 55 ng/mL | >50 | Optimal |
| Ferritin | 50 ng/mL | 50-125 | Optimal |
| Cystatin C | 0.71 mg/L | 0.52-1.28 | Optimal |
Full panel (24+ markers) inside the Biology By Design™ app.
| Region | BMD | T-Score | Z-Score | WHO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumbar Spine (L1-L4) | 1.394 g/cm² | 1.6 | 1.7 | Normal |
| Left Femur, Neck | 1.097 g/cm² | 0.4 | 0.9 | Normal |
| Left Femur, Total | 1.035 g/cm² | 0.2 | 0.5 | Normal |
| Whole Body | 1.232 g/cm² | 1.5 | 1.7 | Normal |
Bone densitometry (lumbar spine, left femur, whole body) via Prodigy Advance Bone Densitometer, GE Lunar.
- 15 minutes of morning sunlight
- Within 60 minutes: oat milk + whey isolate + espresso
- Creatine 5g + taurine 1g
- Trans-resveratrol 500mg
- Methylated B-complex
- D3K2, 2000-5000 IU
- Quercetin 500mg
- Zinc carnosine + L-glutamine 0.5g
- Omega-3, EPA + DHA 2000mg
- Magnesium glycinate 380mg + glycine 3g
- Melatonin 1mg
Movement: 3 days of progressive overload, 2 days of jump training, 10,000+ steps daily. Sleep: minimum 8 hours nightly.
My biology was changing. But N=1 isn't a universal truth. So I kept looking.
Beyond Me
People rarely had the problem they thought they had.
I stopped chasing symptoms. I got obsessed with the system underneath them.
Female Healthspan™
Women live longer. Why don't we stay well for longer?
I'm particularly interested in the Indian female phenotype: a significant metabolic burden, often alongside low protein intake, low muscle mass, nutrient insufficiency, and cultural norms that normalise female depletion. We can't simply import Western longevity protocols and call it answered.
Better questions. More observation. Measured output.
Biology By Design™
The methodology that came from that work.
Understand
Identify the lever
Change
Measure
Today, Biology By Design™ exists as a digital platform, a growing community, and a series of focused Labs. My biology remains public. Case reports document individual outcomes. Observation creates new questions. This is the work I intend to spend the next decade building.
Credentials
Tanya Malik Chawla
- Biohacker
- Nutrigenomics Researcher
- Trained in Functional Medicine
- Certified Sports Nutritionist
- Certified Functional Nutritionist
- TEDx Speaker
- Founder, Biology By Design™
Her work sits at the intersection of functional medicine, nutrition, nutrigenomics, epigenomics and human performance. Her focus is the modifiable biological inputs that influence Female Healthspan™.