pankti_parikh_resume_2016
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Pankti ParikhE-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +91- 8105143791
Personal Profile:
I am a sincere, disciplined, and hard-working person with a passion for science. Over the duration of my graduation and doctoral education, I have consistently achieved highest levels of academic merit and have endeavoured to build a strong research mindset. My training gives me significant research exposure in the domain of metabolic disorders and infectious diseases and arms me with allied technical expertise of various biotechnological and biochemical methodologies. I am confident that I can leverage upon my strong research base and use my skills to add great value to my organization’s research initiatives.
Qualification:
Senior Research Fellow (Sept 2015 to Oct 2015) – With Dr Amit Singh, Centre for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.Ph.D. (2010-2015) – Immunology group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New DelhiMSc. Biochemistry (2008-2010) – The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, First Class with DistinctionBSc. Biochemistry (2005-2008) – M G Science Institute, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, First Class Vocational Course in Biotechnology (2005-2008) – M G Science Institute, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, First Class
Awards and Fellowships:
1. University 1st rank holder and recipient of Honorary Gold Medal for meritorious achievement in MSc. Biochemistry
2. Recipient of M S Patel Post-Graduate Scholarship by The M S University of Baroda for achieving 1st
rank in the first year of MSc.3. 1st rank holder for all the three years of BSc. in Biochemistry + Vocational Biotechnology in Gujarat
University4. Achieved All India Rank of 60 in GATE 2010 examination (99.4 percentile; seat no: 3012344).5. Qualified CSIR-UGC-JRF (NET) (AIR=68, Dec 2009, seat no: 342850 and AIR=12, June 2010, seat no:
342412).6. Awarded CSIR-JRF and CSIR-SRF fellowship for the Ph.D. program at ICGEB, New Delhi.
Research Experience:
1. Ph.D. – Title: Dissecting the function of WhiB4 in the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
The major issue in the eradication of tuberculosis (TB) is the latent infection of 30% of the world population. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has the ability to escape the host immune system, undergo dormancy for years and finally reactivate to cause active TB. The objective of the project was to understand the role of a Fe-S cluster protein, WhiB4, in the virulence and pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Using various classical molecular biology assays, it was demonstrated that WhiB4 is a redox dependent DNA binding protein which represses transcription. Further in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo experiments established that loss of whiB4 confers Mtb with the advantage of better survival under oxidative stress. Overall, the project gave novel insights into the role of WhiB4 as a redox dependent transcriptional factor, which regulates the oxidative stress response and virulence of Mtb.
Techniques used throughout the work include gene deletion in Mtb, handling and culturing of Mtb, a BSL-3 pathogen, molecular biology techniques like PCR and cloning, western blot, RNA isolation, quantitative Real-Time PCR, microarray analysis and primer designing, and flow cytometry. Cell culture and animal handling was an essential part of infection studies.
2. MSc. Dissertation – Title: Evaluation of the effect of Enicostemma littorale Blume extract on gene expression in NIDDM Rat hepatic tissue.
Type II Diabetes Mellitus, also known as Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM), is associated with many complications arising due to metabolic disturbances and prolonged hyperglycemia. Enicostemma littorale (EL) is a herb shown to have anti-diabetic activity. The overall aim of this project was to elucidate the molecular mechanism of EL extract in ameliorating NIDDM and improving the condition of insulin resistance. The project was a part of the MSc. curriculum.
Techniques employed to accomplish the objectives were – Handling of animals, development of a rat model of NIDDM, serum glucose and lipid estimation, enzymatic assays, and molecular biology techniques like primer designing, RNA isolation and semi-quantitative RT-PCR.
Publications:
1. Chawla, M.*, Parikh, P.*, Saxena, A., Munshi, M., Mehta M., Mai, D., Srivastava, A. K., Redding, K. E., Vashi, N., Kumar, D., Steyn, A. J. C. and Singh, A. Mycobacterium tuberculosis WhiB4 regulates oxidative stress response to modulate survival and dissemination in vivo. Mol. Microbiol. 85, 1148-1165 (2012) (* Equal first authors).
2. Patel, T. P., Soni, S., Parikh, P., Gosai, J., Chruvattil, R., and Gupta, S. Swertiamarin: An Active Lead from Enicostemma littorale Regulates Hepatic and Adipose Tissue Gene Expression by Targeting PPAR-𝛾 and Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Experimental NIDDM Rat Model. eCAM. (2013).
3. Bhaskar, A., Chawla, M., Mehta, M., Parikh, P., Chandra, P., Bhave, D., Kumar, D., Carroll, K. S. and Singh, A. Reengineering redox sensitive GFP to measure mycothiol redox potential of Mycobacterium tuberculosis during infection. PLoS Pathog. 10, e1003902 (2014).
4. Another manuscript under preparation.
Technical Expertise:
1. Molecular Biology techniques to generate genetically modified organisms and study expression profiles: DNA isolation, RNA isolation, PCR, RT-PCR and qRT-PCR, cloning and gene expression, in vitro transcription, gel retardation assay, site-directed mutagenesis and microarray analysis.
2. Bacterial culturing: Culturing E. coli and mycobacterial species, growth kinetics, and flow cytometry with GFP-expressing bacteria.
3. Protein overexpression, purification and characterization: Ni-NTA beads purification, Native PAGE, SDS-PAGE, and Western blot.
4. Enzymatic Assays: Condition optimization, protocol development and enzyme kinetics.5. Animal experiments: Hands-on experience with rats, mice and guinea pigs.6. ex-vivo bio-assay development: Handling and culturing of suspension and adherent cell lines.7. BSL-3 work: Safety protocols regarding handling and culturing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
8. Software tools: ImageJ, MS Excel, GraphPad Prism, BLAST analysis, Adobe Photoshop, Inkscape and Clone manager.
Key Workshops/Seminars/ Training sessions/Symposia:
1. 6-months traineeship in Seattle, US as an exchange student at Dr. David Sherman’s Lab, Seattle BioMed under the Seattle-New Delhi Joint Research Training Program “Research Training on Intracellular Pathogens” (June 2012-Dec-2012).
2. Attended the “19th Annual Meeting, San Diego, USA” organized by the Society of Free Radical Biology and Medicine (SFRBM) (November 14 -18, 2012), as a part of the traineeship at Seattle BioMed.
3. Presented a poster titled “Mycobacterium tuberculosis WhiB4 is a redox-dependent nucleoid binding protein” at the 19th Annual Meeting, SFRBM, 2012.
4. 3rd Prize winner for our Biotechnology Entrepreneurship proposal at Biotechnology Entrepreneurship Special Training (BEST) Programme 2011 (as team of 5 members).
5. 3rd Prize winner at Tenth Winter Symposium, January 2012 for poster presentation titled “Mycobacterium tuberculosis WhiB4 regulates oxidative stress response to modulate survival and dissemination in vivo”.
6. Participated in the “Research Training on Intracellular Pathogens workshop on Tuberculosis” conducted jointly by Seattle BioMed, Seattle and ICGEB, New Delhi from February 28, 2012 to March 1, 2012.
7. Completed 15 days summer training program at Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Trasad Road, Dholka, Gujarat at the Bioanalytical and Bioequivalence department in Clinical Research Organization wing (part of my BSc. Curriculum)
8. Took up a 21 days training in Plant Tissue Culture at IFFCO, Kadi, Gujarat (part of my BSc. Curriculum)
Personal Details:
Date of Birth: November 1st, 1986Nationality: IndianMarital Status: MarriedPermanent Address: B-1/8, 103, Lotus, Govardhan Nagar, LBS Marg, Mulund (West), Mumbai – 400080.Email: [email protected]; [email protected] number: +91- 8105143791
References:
1. Dr Amit SinghAssistant Professor,Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR),Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (MCBL),Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore -560012E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Phone: 080-22932604
2. Dr Shashikant AcharyaAssociate Professor, Dr. K G Naik Department of BiochemistryThe Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.Email: [email protected], [email protected]: 0265-2795594
3. Dr David ShermanAffiliate Professor,Global HealthCentre for Infectious Disease Research307, Westlake Ave. N., Suite 500Seattle, WA 98109-5219Email: [email protected], [email protected] Phone: 001-206-256-7200
4. Dr Dhiraj KumarStaff Research Scientist,Immunology GroupICGEBNew Delhi-110067Email: [email protected]: 011-26742360/26741358