Recent Advances in Targeting Inflammation: Ion channels, GPCR Signaling Tools, Therapies, and Beyond

Dr. Senthilkumar Rajagopal is an Associate Professor/Ramalingaswami Re-entry fellow [DBT] of Department of Biotechnology, REVA University, Bangalore, INDIA. He secured PhD in Biochemistry from Annamalai University, INDIA. He did his three Post-doctoral researches in Anesthesiology in University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, followed by Department of Cancer Immunology & AIDS, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts and, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA. Dr. Senthilkumar is a recipient of Rameshwardasji Birla Smarak Kosh Endowment award from Mumbai Medical Trust, Mumbai, INDIA for his master of philosophy work “Role of Cassia auriculata Leaf extract in alcoholic hepatotoxicity and Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship from Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. In addition, he has received Summer Research Fellowships two times in a row from notable scientific agencies in India such as NASI-INSA-IASc. He has more than 18 years of research experiences in various fields such as Alcoholic hepatotoxicity, Voltage gated calcium channels, protein kinase C phosphorylation, ADAM family, Smooth muscle physiology, G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathways, Neurotransmitters transporters to Central Nervous system. He has published nearly 75 research articles in various peer-reviewed international journals, 46 book chapters, 10 abstracts, 65 conferences proceedings/abstracts and attended various workshops/seminars in India, Canada and USA. He has reviewed and screened the abstracts for National Biotechnology Conferences and Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) and also served the special judge for Biophysical Society award at Virginia Piedmont Regional Science Fair. He has delivered his presentation on “Talk to Expert series which is organized by India Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical facilities map (iSTEM) in association with Principal Scientific adviser to Prime minister office, Govt of India. He conducts research in the area of G-protein coupled receptor mediated intracellular mechanisms by Alcohol-induced digestive disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. Currently, he is mentoring graduate students and having research projects from various funding agencies.

Dr. Ramkumar is a Professor of Biotechnology at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India. He received his doctoral degree from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, India, where he was trained in cell signaling networks, particularly pancreatic β-cell apoptosis. He expanded his realm into the cellular pathophysiology of diabetes during his post-doctoral fellowship at the Chonbuk National University Medical School, Republic of Korea. Further, during his research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, USA, he developed molecular imaging methods to study cellular and molecular pathways in vitro and in vivo. During his academic tenure at SRMIST, Dr. Ramkumar established Cell Culture Laboratory with a 'State of Art' infrastructure. He has made several contributions to the cellular signaling network in diabetes. He has developed a high throughput cell-based assay for screening signaling molecules that restore cellular homeostasis. His research interests span the identification of treatment targets for the management of diabetes. Much of his work has been on understanding the transcription factors involved in redox signaling associated with diabetes and its complications. He has also investigated the epigenetic regulation of cellular mediators involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases. Dr. Ramkumar has conducted several "Hands-on Training Workshops" related to Cell culture. He has over 150 scholarly contributions, including 100 peer-reviewed research papers, and based on his research accomplishments, Dr. Ramkumar has been ranked among the top 2% scientists consecutively for two years, as per the global list released by Stanford University, USA. His research has received more the 3 Crores of funding from several Government agencies, including the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Industries. He is also a recipient of various awards from Government agencies including “Young Scientist Award from DST and “SERB International Research Experience (SIRE) award from SERB. Dr. Ramkumar has established Research Cohort with several hospitals and closely associates with clinicians, translating research from bench to bedside.

Dr. Gautam Sethi is a tenured Associate Professor in Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. The focus of his research over the past few years has been to elucidate the mechanism(s) of activation of oncogenic transcription factors by carcinogens and inflammatory agents and the identification of novel inhibitors of these proteins for prevention of and therapy for cancer. The findings of his research work have so far resulted several publications in high impact factor peer reviewed journals and many international awards. He also serves as an editorial board member for over more than 15 international journals

Dr. Ankita Chatterjee is an Assistant Professor in Department of Biotechnology, School of Applied Sciences, REVA University, Bangalore, India. Her research area includes microbial technology focusing on the effect of microorganisms and microbial metabolites in reducing the environmental pollutants. The area of research also spans around extraction of pharmaceutically active bioactive compounds from natural sources and their analyses. She has 35 publications at present which include 22 research and review papers in reputed international and national journals as well as 13 book chapters in internationally edited books under reputed publishers. She has served as reviewer for various international journals.