Research focuses on elucidation of molecular pathways at cellular and systems level during disease progression using integrated analysis of  genomic (total RNA, miRNA),  proteomic, metabolomic and metagenomic data. An intense area of research in this regard is the gut microbial alterations during disease onset. Using the Next Generation Sequencing tools the group has analyzed the gut metagenome in patients of alcoholic liver disease. In the same set of patients, the PBMC transcriptome and plasma metabolome has also been analyzed. New tools are being devloped for identifying transcriptome modules in blood and liver, that provide insight at a system level functioning of genes/cells during disease progression. The strongholds of the lab are employing mathematical modelling for analysis of the omics data and also that it is the only unit at ILBS to perform bioinformatic analysis using R and Python, besides other tools. Another area of investigation is genetic analysis of inheritance patterns of the potential candidate genes which when mutated results in genetic disorders which finally affect the liver functioning. The group has screened affected families to identify potentially susceptible individuals by mutation analysis screening.

Ph.d : University of Delhi, 2005

Postdoctoral Fellow : Department of Urology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA,Department of Microbiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA,Division of Digestive Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA,Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

The goal of the Integrated Technologies Laboratory (ITL) at ILBS is to progress the understanding of underlying mechanisms in liver diseases by employing a systemic approach. The laboratory has a rare distinction in working on molecular mechanisms from cellular (hepatocytes and others) to ecosystem levels (gut microbiome) and establishing a correlation between the two.  In view of this the major areas of research involves:

1. To unravel the molecular pathways active between cells and tissues during disease progression using the “OMICS” approach.  For this the group is using a comprehensive integrated approach of  genomic,  proteomic, metabolomic and metagenomic  tools. An intense area of research in this regard is the genetic analysis of inheritance patterns of the potential candidate genes which when mutated results in genetic disorders which finally affect the liver functioning. Our group has screened affected families to identify potentially susceptible individuals by mutation analysis screening.
2. Importance of gut microbiota in diseases : Human body is now recognized as a fully functional ecosystem, with microbes playing a major role in its functioning. With recent attention on the importance of gut microbiota in diseases, the gut-liver axis needs to be studied in detail to determine the role these microbes play in maintaining a healthy liver or progression towards disease. Using the Next Generation Sequencing tools the group has already started analyzing the gut metagenome of chronic alcoholic patients.
3. At the cellular level, the lab is involved in determining the role of autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress in hepatic disorders like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other metabolic disorders. Both these processes are well integrated and have been implicated as protective in smaller perturbations but destructive with continuous stress on the cells. Our aim is to determine the tripping point where these pathways shift from a protective to a destructive mode. At the sub-cellular level, the mitochondrial protein translocases are under investigation for their role in maintenance of the health of both normal and carcinomatous hepatocytes. The aim of the project is to determine the modification in mechanism of these beta barrel proteins in regulating the function of the mitochondria in healthy and diseased hepatocytes.
 

• Total Number of publications of that faculty member:                     25          
• Total Number of publications in 2018:                                                 2
•       Total No. of Projects 2018 :                                                             1

Details/List of Projects (Project Title, Funding Agency and Start Date)

Total Number of publications in 2017:                                                    8