Dhanya R, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow(ICMR-DHR)

Reprogramming of satellite cells for cardiac repair.

Skeletal muscle has a remarkable ability to regenerate after injury by a highly orchestrated degeneration at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. It greatly relies on the dynamic interplay between satellite cells and their environment. The self-renewing capability of satellite cells is clearly demonstrated by their remarkable ability to sustain the capacity of muscle to regenerate. A recent report describing the successful transdifferentiation of somatic cells to a cardiac fate invitro has raised the possibility that this process might eventually be used for cell-based cardiac therapy. These myocytes possess similar characteristics to the endogenous cardiomyocytes such as cardiac gene expression, sarcomere structure, and electrophysiological features. We hypothesized that a brief reactivation of programming factors in satellite cells by different inductive signals can induce pluripotency. Further, overexpression of the master regulatory transcription factors which control the gene networks can convert it into cardiomyocytes like cells. The resulting new cell type can then be used for patient-speci?c disease modeling, drug screening, or regenerative medicine.

Neeraja K M
PhD Student

Regulation and processing of mRNA 3'UTR in cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

Feba Shaji
PhD Student

Malaya Ranjan Behera
PhD Student

Diksha Singh
PhD Student

Sneha Sandra P S
Project Fellow

Role of Poly (A) tailing in mRNA stabilization in E. coli and it's physiological significance.

Ciji Varghese
Senior Manager (Technical Services)

Laboratory management assistance.