Research Interest
My basic interest is to investigate molecular pathways and gene regulation, epigenetic changes underlaying diseases including inflammatory diseases, infections, cancer by using simple molecular biology techniques, Bioinformatics and high-end sequencing techniques.
Postdoctoral researchChromatin epigenetics plays a key role in maintaining and establishing cell identity. Factors that affects the dynamics of epigenome are not fully understood. HMGN are non-histone, chromatin architecture proteins ubiquitously present in all vertebrate cells. A previous study from our group, for the first time reported the role of HMGN’s in maintaining the cell identity (Nat Commun. 2018 Dec 7; 9(1): 5240). Transdifferentiation cell models of OSKM induced reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into induced pluripotent stem cells
(iPSCs), and the ASCL1 induced conversion of fibroblast into neurons were used to understand the HMGN’s role in cell identity. But the role of these proteins in lineage specific cell differentiation or development are yet to be investigated. Currently he is studying the function of HMGN proteins in cell differentiation models and validating them in mice using ATAC seq, ChIP seq etc. |
PhD researchThe title of his Ph.D thesis is entitled as "Modulation of Macrophage And T Cell Function By
Endocrine and Orphan Nuclear Receptors". The main theme of my research work was to study the function of an endocrine nuclear receptor 'VDR' and an orphan nuclear receptor 'TR4' in infection and inflammation. We have also made an attempt to understand the small molecule-NR interactions and in the course of time we generated small molecule databases for orphan NRs and autophagy modulators. Uncontrolled inflammation may result in damage to self-tissues and organs, due to inappropriate activation of inflammatory lymphocytes. Th1 and Th17 are the two the cell subsets that induce several autoimmune diseases. So, it is important to investigate how we can control these cell types to prevent the progression of these inflammatory diseases. |
Other researchAs project Assistant: University of Hyderabad, from 2009 to 2010, worked on a project “Molecular basis of adhering: cloning, sequencing and heterologous expression of candidate gene from a soil bacterium” under Prof Dayananda Siddavattam.
As M.Sc project student: Progene Biosciences, from January 2009 to March 2009, worked on a research project “Virtual Screening Studies of Novel Ligands from ZINC database as Antitubercular FtsZ inhibitors”. |