Our Team

Dr.Rajiv obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Delhi in 2003 with specialization in the areas of Microbial Ecology and Bioprospecting. Subsequently, he went to premier institutions such as Mayo Clinic (Rochester) in United States for advanced training in interdisciplinary areas of signal transduction pertaining to in vitro and in vivo studies on unmet clinical needs. He joined Amity University in 2012 as a Professor in Amity Institute of Biotechnology and from July 2014 till October 2021, he was heading the Amity Institute of Public Health, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida. Dr. Rajiv has recently joined the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur campus as Dean (Research). His current research interests include Restenosis, Fibrosis, Diabetes, Renal Physiology, Cell Biology, Signal Transduction, Vascular Biology, Public Health and Artificial Intelligence. His research is currently funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India.

Dr.Sivapatham Sundaresan

Associate Professor (Research)

Dr. S. Sundaresan completed his masters in Biochemistry from University of Madras and Doctorate in Biochemistry with specialization in cancer research. He has also worked in CRO-IIBAT and Specra unit of Orchid Pharmaceuticals in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He has joined SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Center in 2008 and has been with the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur campus as Associate Professor doing research in cancer diagnosis and therapy. He have been working in the arena of cancer chemoprevention, cancer immunotherapy, tumor markers and in developing Andro/Evo-albumin nanoparticles, synthesized and loaded into polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds.

Dr.P.Venkataraman

Associate Professor (Research)

venkatap@srmist.edu.in

Dr. P Venkataraman completed his both UG and PG in Biochemistry from Adhiparasakthi college of Science affiliated by University of Madras and MPhil degree (2002) from Department of Endocrinology, University of Madras, Chennai, India and was awarded PhD degree at the age of 32 years from the same department on 2009. At present he is working as an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur campus Chennai, India. He has published his research works in 57 international peer-reviewed journals especially in Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Endocrine Research, Neurotoxicology, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Research, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, BBA Clinical, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, Gene Reports and Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

Dr.Muralidhara Rao

Associate Professor

muralidm1@srmist.edu.in

Dr. Muralidhara Rao Maradana is an experimental immunologist with wide ranging experience in the field of immunology, inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases, and diet-based therapeutic development. Dr. Murali obtained his PhD in Medicine from the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, under the supervision of Dr. Brendan O’Sullivan and Professor Ranjeny Thomas. His PhD work established the pre-clinical evidence for therapeutic efficacy of an anti-inflammatory nanoparticle drug delivery to treat obesity-induced diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Upon completion of his PhD, Dr. Maradana joined the laboratory of Dr. Brigitta Stockinger at the Francis Crick Institute, London, UK to gain post-doctoral research experience on the influence of environmental factors in intestinal infections and colon cancer. During his tenure at the Crick Institute, he collaborated with parasitologist Dr. Adam Sateriale, and investigated the therapeutic potential of dietary indole-derivatives in cryptosporidiosis, which cause significant morbidity and mortality to infants and young ruminant animals due to lack of effective treatments. In his current research work, Dr. Murali is studying the influence of environmental factors on immunoregulation of human cryptosporidiosis and envisions to translate dietary interventions for cryptosporidiosis in humans and farm animals.

Dr.Piyush Agrawal

Assistant Professor

piyusha@srmist.edu.in

Dr. Piyush Agrawal holds a Ph.D. in the field of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from CSIR-IMTech, Chandigarh, India, supervised by Prof. G.P.S. Raghava. His doctoral research primarily delved into computer-aided drug design, with a focus on the computational aspects of protein-ligand interactions. In addition to substantial contributions to methodological advancements, Dr. Agrawal developed web-based resources and user-friendly machine learning tools for predicting therapeutic properties of ligands.

For his Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dr. Agrawal joined Dr. Hannenhalli’s lab at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA, where he extensively explored cancer genomics. His postdoctoral research was centered on unraveling tumor heterogeneity, deciphering molecular mechanisms underlying metastasis, and studying responses to drug treatments.

In April 2024, Dr. Agrawal assumed the role of Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, India. His research group, the “Computational and System Biology” lab, is dedicated to leveraging AI/ML-based computational approaches to analyze multi-omics data, aiming to elucidate mechanisms associated with cancer metastasis, drug toxicity, and identification of potential biomarkers from various imaging modalities (such as H&E and IHC staining). Additionally, the lab investigates splicing events in host-microbe interactions.

Dr. Agrawal collaborates closely with researchers at both international and national levels. Notably, he collaborates with Dr. Hannenhalli at NCI, NIH, USA, focusing on various aspects of cancer genomics. Additionally, his collaboration with Dr. Patiyal and Dr. Mukherjee at NCI, NIH, USA focuses on investigating the mechanism of alternative splicing in cancer metastasis. Moreover, Dr. Agrawal collaborates with Dr. Sharma at IIT Hyderabad, concentrating on the development of AI/ML tools for exploring properties associated with peptides derived from microbes. Furthermore, he collaborates with Dr. Singh at the University of Delhi, with a broad focus on chemoinformatics.

Dr.Raji Lenin

Assistant Professor

rajil@srmist.edu.in

Dr.Raji Lenin is a biochemistry and molecular biology specialist with 10+ years of expertise in in vitro and in vivo experimentation in type 2 diabetes and its complications. Her research spans around discovering new paradigms in the ever-evolving field of type 2 diabetes, with a keen focus on endoplasmic reticulum stress -induced disease pathology. She has proven records of science writing and grant management skills as displayed by a key role in securing a $65K USD from various funding agencies in the USA for her postdoctoral work (2016- 2019) as an independent principal investigator.

Dr.Gisha Sivan

Assistant Professor

gishas@srmist.edu.in

Dr Gisha Sivan did her PhD from Cochin University of Science and Technology, India on the biomedical aspects of fish venom. She later was awarded with CSIR RA to work on Nanotoxicology studies in Zebrafish and did her Postdoc (Kothari UGC) from University of Madras, Chennai in Biochemistry on In vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetics of nanoparticles encapsulating curcumin. Her teaching experience includes guiding graduate and postgraduate research projects at St Alberts College and Sacred Heart College, Kerala. She is an academic Counselor for IGNOU in Life sciences, Zoology and Biochemistry. Her current research includes Zebrafish developmental studies, nanoplastics, zooplankton (Euphausiid) bioactive compounds, and Leech medicinal therapy.

Dr.Madhumitha Haridoss

Assistant Professor

madhumih@srmist.edu.in

Dr. Madhumitha Haridoss is a highly accomplished Scientist in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) with a distinguished career spanning eight years. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Science and Humanities from Anna University, as well as a M.Sc. in Human Genetics and a B.Sc. in Microbiology. She is currently pursuing a M.A. in Economics. Her academic journey has been marked by active engagement in research, primarily centered on subjects such as Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Immunology making substantial contributions to various scientific publications. Prior to her tenure at SRM-IST, she worked at ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), where she spearheaded several pivotal projects, including cost-effectiveness analyses of various medical interventions such as TNF-a, B-cell and JAK inhibitors for Rheumatoid Arthritis, cholecystectomy for gallstones, and the use of masks and respirators for COVID-19 prevention in the Indian context. Her research skills and dedication have paved the way for valuable collaborations with field experts, culminating in the publication of numerous articles in esteemed peer-reviewed journals. Madhumitha is highly regarded for her proficiency in economic modeling, systematic reviews, and scientific writing, establishing her as a well-rounded professional in the domain of Health Economics and Outcomes Research.

Dr. Shiny PJ

Assistant Professor

shinyp@srmist.edu.in

Dr. Shiny is a post-doctoral researcher in the field of regenerative medicine. Her research is focussed in the field of Biomaterials and Tissue engineering wherein she worked on the fabrication of different forms of scaffolds for dermal and cardiac regeneration. Her five years of postdoctoral work at National laboratories like CSIR-CLRI and IIT-Madras was funded by DST-SERB, and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. She completed her doctorate from VIT University in the field of Nanobiotechnology where she worked on the eco-friendly synthesis of nanoparticles for biomedical application. She was also the recipient of the Senior Research Fellowship from CSIR, Government of India.

Dr.Subhashis Pal

Assistant Professor

subhashp@srmist.edu.in

Osteoimmunology, Immuno-oncology, Bone Biology, Gut-Bone axis

Our research group is interested in studying the crosstalk between immune cells and bone cells (osteoblast, osteoclast, osteocyte) in different pathophysiological conditions. We also study the tumor cells' bone metastasis process and how tumor cells can hide in the bone microenvironment by avoiding immune surveillance. The gut microbiome is another unexplored player, that can contribute largely to regulating our immune and bone health. Our lab is also interested in studying the underlying mechanism for the Gut-Bone axis.

Dr.Dhruva Nandi

Scientific Writer

dhruvan@srmist.edu.in

Dr. Dhruva Nandi completed his bachelor’s degree as a dental surgeon from Indraprastha Dental College and Hospital, Delhi in 2017. He did his post-graduation in Public Health (MPH) in 2021 from Amity Institute of Public Health, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He has worked as a research assistant in Apollo Hospital, Delhi in an ICMR funded project. Dr. Dhruva Nandi has recently joined the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur campus research associate where he will collaborate with clinicians and research scientists and focus on clinical as well as public health research. His areas of interest are Infectious diseases, epidemiology, women and men sexual health literacy, health management and welfare for LGBTQ+ community in India.

Ms.Sai Varsaa

Research Associate

saivarsa@srmist.edu.in

Ms. Sai Varsaa completed her M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology from SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of Madras, and her bachelor’s in psychology from Women’s Christian College. Complementing her sound academic knowledge went on to intern at the Schizophrenia foundation of India under their Dementia Care Project as a Dementia friend as well as a fellowship at an NGO called Thrive where she worked with middle school children conducting life skills sessions based on social and emotional learning framework. In addition, She also interned at various Government setups as a counseling psychologist trainee and at the Chengalpattu Government Hospital and Adyar Cancer Institute as a Clinical psychology Trainee. Ms Sai Varsaa has recently joined the department of Medical Research, SRMMCH&RC, as a research associate, where she is currently working in collaboration with experts in other fields on Developing indigenous psychosocial assessment for Behavioral outcomes for resilience and Health seeking behavior of community towards Chengalpattu health advisory board. Her area of interest are Behaviour medicine, Health Behaviour, health psychology and Community based Clinical practises.

Mr. Prabhu D

Research Assistant

prabhud2@srmist.edu.in

Prabhu D has completed his bachelor’s in economics (2008) from the University of Madras, Chennai. He did Diploma in Medical Lab Technology (DMLT) in 2011 and Laboratory Animal Technician Training Course in 2012. He has 10 years of experience in Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai as Animal House Supervisor. He has joined SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Center in 2021 and has been with the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Kattankulathur campus as Research Assistant.

Mrs. Aparna Shivaramakrishnan

Secretary

aparnam@srmist.edu.in

Aparna M has completed her graduation in the Bachelor of Computer Application in 2015. She worked as a copyrights coordinator in Reed Elsevier International Publishing Pvt.Ltd 2015 – 2016.

Mr. Nishant

Computer Operator

nishantb@srmist.edu.in

Nishanth B has completed his B.Sc., in Visual Communication (2018) from SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Chengalpattu. He did a Master’s in Banking & Financial Services along with Industrial Certifications in 2020. He has 3 years of experience in ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company.