Dr. Ranjith Kumavath
About
Research Area
Dr. Ranjith Kumavath, FRSB, pursued his M.Sc. (Biochemistry) from S.V University, Tirupati, and Ph.D. (Life Sciences) from the University of Hyderabad. He was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at NTU (Singapore), Mercer University Georgia (USA), and UGC Kothari PDF at the University of Hyderabad. He joined the Central University of Kerala as an Assistant Professor on a regular post in 2011 in the Department of Genomic Sciences. He was appointed as the founder and Head (i/c) of the Department of Genomic Science from 2011 to 2014. He received many awards viz Young Scientist Award, Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal, APJ Kalam Gold Medal Award, and Bio-Asia Young Scientist, to name a few. He is also a Fellow of SAB Society of Applied Biotechnology, a Fellow of Young Investigator (YIM) by India Biosciences, and an elected member of the Fellow of Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) from the Royal Society of Biology, London, as one of the eminent biologists in the world. He has successfully executed 6 projects (~ 3.5 crores) and two ongoing projects. He has been awarded 4 Ph.D., 3 MPhil, and 55 Masters in Genomics dissertation thesis. He has published ~64 research papers in peer-reviewed journals; also, he has published 3 books and 22 book chapters. He is an editor and reviewer in several reputed International Journals. He has nearly 52 peer-reviewed abstracts published in National, International symposiums and conferences. He has collaborations with the NUS Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (Japan), Virginia Tech University (USA), San Diego State University (USA), Federal University of Brazil, and University of Alicante (Spain).
Dr. Ranjith Kumavath Lab is focused on Cancer Genomics, Metagenomics, and Infective Diseases aiming to uncover innovative drug targets and delivery systems to tackle the challenges faced by various types of cancers, infectious diseases, and antibiotic resistance. His vision stems from the rich diversity of natural compounds from the environmental microbiome, which can be implemented as novel anti-infectious and anticancer drugs. His lab has repurposed highly efficient Cardiac Glycoside (CGs) anticancer drugs Lanatoside-C, Strophanthidin, Peruvoside, Digoxin, and Ouabain, that arrests G2/M cell cycle, attenuates MAPK, Wnt/β-catenin, JAK-STAT, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in multiple cancer. Furthermore, nsSNPs in the CYP19A1 gene and pioneer transcription factors were identified as putative novel drug targets. His team has also discovered microbial metabolites, novel bioactive carotenoids, Bacterioruberin, Rubrivivaxin, and Rhodethrin. These novel compounds exhibit anticancer and antimicrobial activities against infectious pathogens.
On the other hand, he is working on the functional logic of sequence-specific multiple antibiotic resistance genes underlying the TCST mechanisms. The microbial communities from various abiotic and biotic environments are being studied to harness the enormous Microbial-derived Biomolecules and AMPs with desirable biological activities for therapeutic and Integrative Omics based markers and target drug discovery. The team is also working to make sense of the deluge of (Meta) Genomic, Exomic, and Transcriptomic data by (i) Correlating genome variation to phenotype, (ii) Identifying the specifics of sequence-encoded molecular functions, and (iii) Elucidating complex system/community interactions.
(iv) microbial meta-barcoding; sequence encoded molecular functions (SEMF), and metagenomics of natural and built environments
His team has discovered that the Kerala mangrove has the most diverse microbiome and resistome globally. The halophiles of the Arabian Sea coastline are enriched with Crtl carotenoids and CruF bacterioruberin pigments genes from extremophile sp. His current research is inclined towards infectious disease epidemiology and genetics, novel biomarkers in the human microbiome and resistome through AI/Deep Machine Learning, drug repurposing, and immunogenetic modulator for cancer treatment. These biomarkers shall be implemented for disease prevention, diagnosis, and possible drug targets.
Area of Research:
➢ Cancer and (Meta) Genomics – Exome and Transcriptome, whole genome, Drug Repurposing, nsSNPs, Pioneer Transcription Factors.
➢ Microbiome, Halophiles, Novel bioactive carotenoids, Bacterioruberin, Rubrivivaxin, Rhodethrin, Cardiac Glycoside (CGs), and AMPs.
➢ Omics-based markers and target drug discovery, drug targets and delivery systems, nanoparticles, the human microbiome, and resistome through AI & Deep Machine Learning.
Notable Publications
Reddy D, Ghosh P, Kumavath R*. Strophanthidin Attenuates MAPK, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathways in Human Cancers. Frontier Oncology (ISSN: 2234943X) (2020) 9:1469. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.01469. (IF 6.244).
Reddy D, Kumavath R*, Ghosh P, Barh D. Lanatoside C Induces G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest and Suppresses Cancer Cell Growth by Attenuating MAPK, Wnt, JAK-STAT, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathways. Biomolecules (ISSN: 2218273X) (2019) 9(12). pii: E792. doi: 10.3390/biom9120792. (IF 6.604).
Reddy D, Kumavath R*, Tan TZ, Ampasala DR, Kumar AP. Peruvoside targets apoptosis and autophagy through MAPK Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways in human cancers. Life Sciences (ISSN: 0024-3205) (2020) 241:117147. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2019.117147. (IF 6.78)
Madangchanok Imchen and Ranjith Kumavath* Metagenomic insights into the prevalence of antibiotic resistome in mangrove sediments and its association to global socioeconomic status. Environmental Pollution (ISSN: 0269-7491) (2021) 268 115795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115795. 2020, (IF 9.998).
Jamseel M; Imchen M and Kumavath R*. 16s rRNA metagenomic analysis reveals predominance of Crtl and CruF genes in Arabian Sea coast of India. Science of the Total Environment (ISSN: 0048-9697) (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140699 (IF 10.753)
