Dr. Santoshi MuppalaDepartment of Molecular Cardiology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, USA, Email: santoshi92028@gmail.com
Biography
I began my initial career with masters in Microbiology from India. I was always enthusiastic in research in biology. With a great initiative, I finished masters in Microbiology and stood at the top of my class in SV University, Tirupati, India in 2003. Later, I joined as a scientist in a reputable biotech company named Biocon in India in 2005. I worked on molecular biology cloning projects, which were based on client needs. I learnt many molecular biology techniques and had a firsthand experience with many techniques, e.g., Immunoblotting and qpcr, etc.
To continue my studies, I found an opportunity to gain experience in the vast field of cancer biology in University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. I joined as a graduate student in 2009 at the University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. During my PhD thesis, I worked on OncomiRs and oncogenes role in different cancers, and the work was published in high impact journals. My main thesis work was in particular on important regulatory pathways involved in colorectal cancer metastasis, and it was published in Plos One in 2013. In continuation, I applied for postdoc positions in USA. I joined Dr. Stenina lab in 2013 at the department of Molecular Cardiology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. I have had a good exposure in different aspects of cardiology research with good publication record. I was focused to find out different functions of TSP-4 in cardiovascular biology and cancer. We published novel function of TSP-4 as a pro-angiogenic protein and TGF-Ã1 induced angiogenesis and cancer growth is mediated by TSP-4.
To gain teaching experience I joined as a senior instructor at the University of West Indies, Trinidad. I was teaching genetic engineering for undergraduate and grad Students. Then I joined as a postdoctoral research scholar in University of California, Davis where I worked on role of YAP/TAZ mechanotransduction factors in TGF-Ã induced myofibroblast transformation during wound healing and corneal haze formation. I got better understanding on overall projects related to TGF-Ã1 in different systems. I rejoined Dr. Stenina lab as my long term interests were to find out the role of TSP-4 in cardiovascular pathology. In continuation, recently we reported the role of TSP-4 in inflammation as pro-inflammatory protein which recruits macrophages at the site of lesions and promote their pro-inflammatory activities in different inflammation and cancer mice models. Now I have every opportunity to excel in this field from my overall training. I am very hard working, highly skilled, career oriented, independent and always enthusiastic to learn new things. I am looking forward to gaining more knowledge in cardiovascular cancer research and become an independent investigator.
Research Interest
Thrombospondin-4 (TSP4) is a matricellular protein from the thrombospondin family of proteins (TSP) that consists of five homologous but differentially expressed proteins that are products of five different genes on different chromosomes. Recent reports about important TSP4 functions in cardiovascular system, cancer and nervous system attracted more attention to this understudied TSP, but many of its functions and its regulation still remain unknown. Our work in Thbs4-/- mice revealed that TSP4 promotes atherosclerotic lesions, regulates the local vascular inflammation, and supports accumulation of macrophages in atherosclerotic lesion. TSP-4 is an important mediator of TGF-Ã1 (transforming growth factor Ã1) induced angiogenesis and cancer growth. I have longstanding interests in identifying underlying molecular mechanisms leading to human diseases esp., Atherosclerosis and Cancer. With specific interests describing the role of thrombospondin-4; the molecular mechanisms of regulation of inflammation in vascular walls; the mechanisms of accelerated angiogenesis; and the regulation of tumor growth. The focus is to specify the role of thrombospondin-4 in the regulation of atherosclerosis and cancer in response to TGF-Ã1.