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Kalpana Luthra

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Kalpana Luthra

Affiliation

Prof. & HOD
Department of
Biochemistry

Contact

Email :
kalpanaluthra@gmail.com
Phone :

Additional Responsibility

Office Address

Room No: 4096, 4th Floor Teaching Block, AIIMS Delhi

General OPD

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4th Floor Teaching Block, AIIMS Delhi

Special Clinic

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Surgery Days

Speciality of work

Areas of teaching

Areas of teaching

Dr. Kalpana Luthra

Dr. Kalpana Luthra

Dr. Kalpana Luthra

Professor & Head

Department of Biochemistry

Room No-4001, 4thFloor

Convergence Block,

All India Institute of Medical Sciences,

New Delhi-110029

Phone: 011-26549242

Email Id: kalpanaluthra[at]gmail[dot]com

Academic Details:

  • PhD in Biochemistry in the year 1994, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
  • Masters in Science (M.Sc in Biochemistry) in the year 1987, SIES College, Mumbai

Dr. Kalpana Luthra is a Professor & Head in the Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. She completed her PhD at AIIMS in 1994 and joined as faculty at AIIMS in 1998. She was awarded Shakuntala Amir Chand Prizeby Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the year 2003 & Fogarty fellowship in 2002 and availed training in HIV-1 antibody related work at New York University. She is a Fellow of The National Academy of Medical Sciences India (NAMS), National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) & Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

Research Focus of the lab

HIV Immunology: Coevolution of virus and antibody responses, generation and characterization of human recombinant anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibodies

HIV-1 is a complex virus with a remarkable ability to protect itself from our intricate network of immune system. This is achieved by masking itself from the immune recognition by acquiring the host proteins or by escaping the humoral response by virtue of its extraordinary ability to mutate. This leads to generation of diverse strains of HIV-1 virus, making the treatment and prevention a complicated process. More than 90% of the HIV-1 infections in India are caused by clade C viruses. Our lab focuses on studying various aspects of HIV-1 infection which includes:

  • Characterizing the antibody responses against the circulating virus in infected donors, particularly infected infants and pediatric patients.
  • Generation and characterization of human anti-HIV-1 recombinant monoclonal antibodies as potential therapeutic reagents against HIV-1.
  • To study the coevolution of virus and antibody responses during natural infection and map neutralization determinants on the HIV-1C viruses circulating in infant and adult infected individuals to identify clade C specific epitopes for immunogen design.
  • Currently, our lab is in the process of generating native-like, soluble HIV-1 envelope immunogens and characterizing their potential as vaccine candidates in rabbits.

Studies on pediatric HIV-1 infection

HIV-1C primary isolates generated in our lab from select infected children showed resistance to neutralization by majority of the known second generation bNAbs (Makhdoomi et al,Virology2016). We followed up antiretroviral naïve chronically infected children and mapped their plasma for presence of bnAbs (Makhdoomi et al.J Gen Virol. 2017 Jul;98(7):1879-189) and identified a pair of identical twins AIIMS_329 and AIIMS_330. The plasma from both donors showed the evolvement of bnAbs targeting common epitopes in the V2 and V3 regions of the envelope, suggesting bnAb development in these twins may perhaps be determined by specific sequences in the shared virus that can guide development of immunogens aimed at eliciting V2 and V3 bNAbs. Characterization of the neutralization sensitive and resistant viruses coevolving with bNAbs in the contemporaneous AIIMS_330 plasma provides information towards understanding viral alterations that may have contributed to the development of resistance to bnAbs. (Mishra N. J Virolhttps://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00654-19).

Our work on circulating HIV-1 in perinatally infected infants defined viral factors associated with early bnAb responses, supportive of polyvalent vaccination approaches capable of inducing bnAbs against HIV-1 (Mishra N. Nat.Commun.,2020) 11:4409https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18225-x). As in the case of monozygotic twins, we identified that the antibody response in infants primarily targets the V2 region of HIV-1, making it an attractive target for immunogen design to elicit antibodies.

Using the high throughput technology of HIV-1 specific single B cell sorting, we isolated a bNAb AIIMS-P01 from a pediatric elite neutralizer (Kumar et al,JVI, 2019). This mAb has shown 67% breadth at a potency of 0.5 µg/ml, and shows good neutralizing activity against Indian clade C viruses and needs to be tested in future for in vivo protection against HIV-1 infection.

Recently, we generated and structurally analyzed a heavy chain matured linage antibody 44m of the parental anti-HIV-1 human monoclonal AIIMS P01, that demonstrated improved neutralization potential against globally diverse viruses, as compared to the parent antibody (Kumar Set al. iScience. 2023)

SARS-CoV-2

During the COVID-19 pandemic, neutralizing antibodies have been shown to be a critical feature of recovered patients. Given the unique nature of HIV-1 bnAbs and their ability to recognize and/or accommodate viral glycans, we reasoned that the glycan shield of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can be targeted by HIV-1 specific bnAbs. We showed that HIV-1 specific monoclonal antibodies as well as polyclonal plasma antibodies cross-react and neutralize SARS-CoV-2. (Mishra N. PLoS Pathog 2021. 17(9): e1009958 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009958.

Publications (Selected publications since last 5 years)

Chapters in Books

  • Chapter on “Indian Scientist major contribution in the field for Nobel Prize” in “Nobel Dreams of India” Editors: Dr Archana Sharma, Dr. Sweta Vijaykrishnan. 2020
  • Muzamil A. Makhdoomi, Lubina Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Heena Aggarwal, Ravinder Singh, Rakesh Lodha, Mohit Singla. Bimal K Das, Sushil K. Kabra and Kalpana Luthra. Title of the Chapter: “Cross-neutralizing antibodies envolve in plasma of chronic HIV-1 infected ART naïve children (long term non-progressors) from India”, (Editors: Satish Kumar Gupta and Nirmal Kumar Lohiya), Name of the Book: “Molecular Medicine Bench to Beside and Beyond” 2018, page 253-260, Publisher: Indian society for the study of reproduction and fertility, University of Rajasthan.
  • Chapter on The Thyroid Glandin‘Textbook ofBiochemistry, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology and Allied Medicine’(Editors: Dr. G.P.Talwar,Dr.SeyedE.Hasnainand Dr.ShivKumarSarin.2016
  • ‘Fat metabolism and its regulation’. Published in “Concepts of Biochemistry”. Ed. Dr. L.M.Srivastava, CBS Publications, pp. 189-248, 2004.
  • Two chapters on Centrifugation and Electrophoresis under Laboratory Instrumentation in “Essentials of Biochemistry”. LM Srivastava (Editor), CBS Publishers, New Delhi, India.Chapters 3.1 & 3.5Page 11-18 & 32-37, 2002.

  • Chapter on DNA Fingerprinting for class XI-XII ‘Textbook in Biology (supplementary material) published by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in December 2000. Chapter on “Basic concept of Clinical Biochemistry” in e book “Clinical Biochemistry”, 18thSeptember 2006. (Revised 5thMay 2008).

    http://nsdl.niscair.res.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/691/1/ClinicalBiochem_Concepts.pdf

Patents

INDIAN:

  • Invention Title: “Neutralizing human anti-V3 monoclonal antibody generated from HIV-1 Clade C infected Indian patient” Authors: Dr. Kalpana Luthra, Dr. Raiees Andrabi, Dr. Naveet Wig, Dr. Ashutosh Biswas, Patent Application No: 1882/DEL/2012. The above patent was advertised and granted on 26February 2014(Patent number: ZA Patent No. 2013/04490).
  • Invention Title: “A BROADLY NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY”Authors: Dr. Kalpana Luthra, Sanjeev Kumar, Dr Rakesh Lodha:Indian Provisional Patent Application No.:201811021940,12thJune, 2018,LIPC Ref: 55/PA/AJ/CA/2018.
  • Invention Title“Novel engineered HIV-1 Subtype-C envelope glycoprotein”Prof. Kalpana Luthra, Mr. Swarandeep Singh, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Mr. Nitesh Mishra, Ms. Shaifali Sharma, Dr. Muzamil Ashraf Makhdoomi, Dr. Rakesh Lodha. Applied for professional patenting through AIIMS, New Delhi, in December, 2021. (Reference Number: F:1-132/2021/P.Cell, Application Number: 202211004612)
  • Invention title:> “Development of CRISPR based detection assay for clade C Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1” Prof. Kalpana Luthra, Ms. Anjli Guar, Mr. Harsh Bhakhri, Mr. Nitesh Mishra,Ms. Shaifali Sharma, Ms. Tanu Bansal, Prof. Subrata Sinha, Prof. Rakesh Lodha, Applied for patenting through AIIMS, New Delhi, in September 2022.

Honors/Awards/Achievements

  • Fellow of the following National Academies; The National Academy of Medical Sciences India (NAMS), National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI) & Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
  • Dr Tulsi Das Chung Academic Award 2023 by NAMS (India) for the publication “Mishra N, Sharma S, Dobhal A, Kumar S, Chawla H, Singh R, Makhdoomi MA, Das BK, Lodha R, Kabra SK, Luthra K. Broadly neutralizing plasma antibodies effective against autologous circulating viruses in infants with multivariant HIV-1 infection. Nat Commun. Sep 2;11(1):4409, 2020. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18225-x
  • AIIMS Excellence Research Award 2020 in Basic Research (1stPrize)
  • AIIMS Excellence Research Award 2019 in Basic Research (1stPrize)
  • Shakuntala Amir Chand Prizeby Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the year 2003
  • Fogarty fellowship in 2002
  • Elected as “Women in Science of Antiviral Research Society and was awarded the same on 24thOctober 2017 by Antiviral Research Society at the National Seminar on Recent advances in Antiviral Drug Design against Emerging and Re-emerging viral diseases held in Kalasalingam University, Krishnakoil, Tamil Nadu
  • AIIMS Excellence Research Award 2017 in Basic Research (3rdPrize)
  • AIIMS Excellence Award 2013 in Basic Sciences (2ndPrize)
  • Life Member of Indian Society of Translational Research
  • Life member of Association of Clinical Biochemists of India
  • Life member of Indian Immunological Society
  • Executive Committee member of the Indian Immunology Society
  • Life member of Indian Academy of Biomedical Sciences (IABS)
  • Contributing membership of American Society of Microbiology (ASM)
  • Life member of Society of Free Radical Research (SFRR)
  • Life Member of Indian Society of Translational Research
  • Editorial Board Member of Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry

Dr. Swarandeep Singh, Research Associate:

Dr. Swarandeep Singh

D r. Swarandeep Singh, is a Research Associate, working on a project entitled "Development of therapeutic broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against circulating HIV-1 clade C in children and adults." He earned his Ph.D. in the HIV-1 Immunology Laboratory at AIIMS New Delhi under the chief guidance of Professor Kalpana Luthra. During his Ph.D., he developed expertise in designing and characterizing HIV-1 vaccines and recombinant monoclonal antibodies. Dr. Singh's primary research interest lies in HIV-1 vaccine design, with a focus on testing designed immunogens in preclinical animal models. Additionally, he actively explores the generation and modification of novel monoclonal antibodies from chronically HIV-1 infected patients for therapeutic purposes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has showcased the unique nature of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) & polyclonal plasma antibodies cross-reacted and effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2, showcasing the potential dual application of HIV research insights in combating other viral infections. Through the esteemed HIV-1 Research Trust Fellowship Award (United Kingdom), Dr. Swarandeep Singh has gained advanced skills in the design of self-assembling protein nanoparticles as a platform for HIV vaccines & other innovative vaccine strategies

Patents:

  • Prof.KalpanaLuthra,Swarandeep Singh ,and Prof. Rakesh Lodha have an Indian patent application (202211004612) on January 27, 2022, for Novel engineered HIV-1 Subtype-C Envelope glycoprotein.

Publications:

  • Kumar S, Singh S, Chatterjee A, Bajpai P, Sharma S, Katpara S, Lodha R, Dutta S, Luthra K. Recognition determinants of improved HIV-1 neutralization by a heavy chain matured pediatric antibody. iScience. 2023 Aug 9;26(9):107579. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107579. Erratum in: iScience. 2023 Oct 06;26(10):108013. PMID: 37649696; PMCID: PMC10462834. * Equal Contribution
  • Sanjeev Kumar†, Swarandeep Singh†, Kalpana Luthra*.An overview of Human Anti- HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibodies against Diverse Epitopes of HIV-1. ACS Omega,†Equal Contribution February 6, 2023,https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c07933
  • Sanjeev Kumar, Himanshu Batra, Swarandeep Singh, Himanshi Chawla, Singh R, Sanket Katpara, AW Hussain, Bimal Kumar Das, R Lodha, SK Kabra, Kalpana Luthra. Effect of combination antiretroviral therapy on human immunodeficiency virus 1 specific antibody responses in subtype-C infected children.J Gen Virol. 2020 Dec;101(12):1289-1299. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001480. Epub 2020 Sep 11. PMID: 32915123
  • Swarandeep Singh1,†,,Sanjeev Kumar1,2,†, , Arnab Chatterjee3,†, Lakshay Malhotra4, Abdul Rahman1, Ifrah Andrabi1, Vikram Iyer1, Sanket Katpara1, Harsh Bhakri1, Anjli Gaur1, Shaifali Sharma1, Tanu Bansal1, Muneeb Perveez1, Abdul Wahid Hussain1,Shubbir Ahmed, Ethayathulla Abdul Samath4, Rajesh Kumar5, Somnath Dutta3,*, Kalpana Luthra1,* Immunogenicity and Structural analysis of native like HIV-1 Clade-C envelope trimers derived from a pediatric elite-neutralizer (under preparation) † Equal Contribution (under preparation)
  • Nitesh Mishra, Shaifali Sharma, Ayushman Dobhal, Sanjeev Kumar, Himanshi Chawla, Swarandeep Singh, Bimal Das, Rakesh Lodha,Sushil Kabra, and Kalpana Luthra*. Plasma neutralizing antibodies in an infant with interclade HIV-1 superinfection preferentially neutralize superinfecting HIV-1 strains.BioRXiv.Preprintdoi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.10.420703.
  • Nitesh Mishra, Sanjeev Kumar, Swarandeep Singh, Tanu Bansal, Nishkarsh Jain, Sumedha Saluja, Rajesh Kumar, Sankar Bhattacharyya, Jayanth Kumar Palanichamy, Riyaz Ahmad Mir1, Subrata Sinha1, Kalpana Luthra. Cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by HIV-1 specific broadly neutralizing antibodies and polyclonal plasma.PLOS Pathogens. September 24, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009958.
  • Reshma Perween , Murugavelu PraveenKumar, Tripti Shrivastava, Hilal Ahmed Parray ,Vanshika Singh , Swarandeep Singh , Adarsh Chiranjivi , Kamini Jakhar , Sudipta Sonar ,Mahima Tiwari , Reema , Anil Kumar Panchal , Chandresh Sharma , Deepak Kumar Rathore ,Shubbir Ahamed , Sweety Samal , Shailendra Mani , Sankar Bhattacharyya , Supratik Das ,Kalpana Luthra , Rajesh Kumar ,*. The SARS CoV-2 spike directed non-neutralizing polyclonal antibodies cross-react with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) gp41. International Immunopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108187.
  • Praveenkumar Murugavelu, Reshma Perween, Tripti Shrivastava, Vanshika Singh, Hilal Ahmad Parray,Swarandeep Singh, Adarsh Kumar Chiranjivi, Ramachandran Thiruvengadam, Savita Singh, Naveen Yadav, Kamini Jakhar, Sudipta Sonar, Shailendra Mani, Sankar Bhattacharyya, Chandresh Sharma, Preeti Vishwakarma, Ritika Khatri, Anil Kumar Panchal, Supratik Das, Shubbir Ahmed, Sweety Samal, Pallavi Kshetrapal, Shinjini Bhatnagar, Kalpana Luthra, Rajesh Kumar. Non-neutralizing SARS CoV-2 directed polyclonal antibodies demonstrate cross-reactivity with the HA glycans of influenza virus.International Immunopharmacologyhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108020.

Awards/Scholarships/Achievements

  • Recipient of prestigious HIVResearchTrustsScholarship Award,UK, to pursue the training on self-

    Oral/Poster Presentations, Participation in Conferences & Symposiums

    • Presented poster entitled “Structure and Immunogenicity of native-like HIV-1 Clade-C envelope trimers from a pediatric elite-neutralizer across diverse platforms” in International AIDS society conference, Brisbane, Australia.
    • Awarded the best Oral Talk in the “International conference on molecular and cellular Electron Tomography” organized by Electron microscopy facility, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
    • Received Global Health Award (LiveStream) for Next Generation HIV Vaccines & Therapies, Mar 27 - Mar 30, 2022, Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
    • Participated in International Meet on Preparedness for Future Epidemics ‘Is India Ready to meet the CEPI 100 days vaccine challenge’, Dec 5-6 2022 THSTI, Faridabad
    • Attended SPR seminar and AKTA Pure UNICORN workshop conducted by Cytivia
    • Participated in 48th Annual Conference of Indian Immunology Society 2022
    • Attended symposia on Mathematics in Biomedical Sciences organized by Indian National Science Academy INSA 
    • Participated in workshop on Microbiological Laboratory Techniques in Medical Microbiology conducted in Department of Botany & Microbiology, Gurukul Kangri University Haridwar
    • Participated in workshop on Advanced Microbiological Techniques in Pharmaceutical Industries conducted in Department of Botany & Microbiology, Gurukul Kangri University Haridwar

    Antara Malik, PhD scholar:

    Antara Malik

    Ms. Antara Malik is a fifth year PhD student currently working in the lab of Dr. Kalpana Luthra. Primarily, her thesis work is aimed at understanding the status of the immune responses and the role of macrophages and T cells in the immunopathology of Chronic Pancreatitis. The second part of her thesis work involves theelucidation of metabolic alterations associated with the progression of Chronic Pancreatitis.

    She completed her Masters in Biotechnology from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Her master’s dissertation was conducted in NIPGR (National Institute of Plant Genome Research), New Delhi where her project work involved cloning of Sucrose Transporters and Expression Analysis of Genes in Rice plants. She graduated in Biochemistry (Hons.) from University of Delhi.

    Research Focus of the Lab:

    • Immune characterization of HIV-1:

    Apart from the ongoing research work involving HIV-1, Prof. Kalpana Luthra has also collaborated with Prof. Pramod K. Garg, Department of Gastroenterology and the group recently started working on Chronic Pancreatitis.

    Chronic Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas which results in the slow destruction of pancreatic parenchyma, severe abdominal pain, subsequent fibrosis leading to poor quality of life. The mechanism of inflammation, tissue destruction and fibrosis is not well understood.

    Patients commonly experience recurrent exacerbations with painful attacks interspersed by relatively quiescent phases. Also, some patients present with chronic continuous pain. This may be driven by either or both innate and adaptive immune responses on which there are several contradictory studies/lacunae in the existing literature.

    Hereby, there arises a need to understand the inflammatory processes in Chronic Pancreatitis with regard to the initiating and effector cells that are involved, and the inflammatory mediators driving the process. The translational significance lies in the possibility of repurposing some of the known anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressive drugs that may be tested in these patients.

    Previous Research Work

    Post her Masters, she continued as a JRF in NIPGR, where she was working on the characterization of tissue specific expression pattern of PIF transcription factors in rice and tomato plants in response to high temperature, drought and salt stress via quantitative PCR and generation of PIF regulatory network via transcriptome profiling of over expression and knock out/down lines using RNA Seq librarypreparation.

    Further, she joined IARI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute), New Delhi as a JRF where her project was based on the integration of plant and parasite omics to decipher the interactions and identify molecular targets for the management of root knot disease of rice.

    Later on, she shifted her research focus to human sciences and joined Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research (ACBR), University of Delhi as a JRF where she was studying the genetic polymorphism of Growth Differentiation Factor15 (GDF15) in patients with Coronary Artery Disease in Asian Indian population followed by the differential expression of GDF15 in these patients at mRNA and protein level.

    Conferences/Workshops/Achievements

    • Attended an Annual Conference and Workshop of The Cytometry Society from 26th October to 29th October 2023
    • Attended a webinar on Inflammation, Cancer and Proteases organized by CeSiN Research Foundation on 14th October 2023.
    • Attended Immunocon-50, conference of the Indian Immunology Society from 5th October-8th October 2023
    • Attended the IAP-IPC Joint International Conference: Pancreas 2023 on 15-17th September 2023 organized by Indian Pancreas Club.
    • Attended a national conference on CRISPR and the Clinic - So near and yet so far organized by Sun Pharma Science Foundation at National Academy of Medical Sciences, near AIIMS on 18th March 2023.
    • Participated in a 3 day hands on workshop on High dimensional Flow Cytometry Panel Design and Data Analysis organized by Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, India from 15-17th March 2023.
    • Attended a Webinar on “Statistical Analysis” organized by Research Graduate on 05th November 2022
    • Attended a symposium on “Inflammation” organized by THSTI on 14th July 2022.
    • Attended a symposium on “World Immunology Day” organized by Dept of Biochemistry, AIIMS on 29th April 2022.
    • Attended a webinar on Single Cell Sequencing: From Single-cell RNA-seq to Spatial Transcriptomics organized by Novogene on 06th November 2020.
    • Participated in the Immunoinformatics workshop conducted by Decode Life from 23rd-24th September 2020.
    • Qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) exam conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
    • Awarded with NCB –GATE fellowship under MHRD.

    Association with professional bodies

    Life member of Indian Immunology society since January 2023.

    Shaifali Sharma, Ph.D. Scholar

    Shaifali Sharma

    Ms. Shaifali Sharma is a Ph.D. Scholar in Prof. Luthra’s Laboratory since February 2020. As a part of her thesis, she is generating HIV-1 envelope immunogen which binds to germline version of known anti-HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies from early HIV-1 infected donors.

    She earned her Master’s degree in Medical Biochemistry from AIIMS, New Delhi in 2019. As a part of her M.Sc. thesis dissertation, she studied the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein by generating pseudoviruses from a chronically infected long term non-progressor, in order to identify envelope features of the virus circulating in patient. After completing her M.Sc., she continued being a part the Lab as a Junior Research Fellow (joined in October 2019) and later registered for Ph.D. in February 2020.

    Previous Research Work

    • Generation and characterization of HIV-1 subtype-C based trimeric immunogens from infected children. (2019- present)
    • Generation and characterization of pseudoviruses from children with perinatally acquired HIV-1 infection(2017-2021)
    • Generation and characterization of pseudoviruses from an adult HIV-1 infected Long term non-progressor (LTNP) for potential subtype C based immunogen. (2017-2019)
    • Dissemination of antibiotic resistance among airborne bacteria and its public health implications. (2015-2016)

    Publications

    • Ray MD, Deo SVS, Luthra K, Mathur S, Anand P, Kumar R,Sharma S, Kahol S, Wahid A. Molecular linking of HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) and T-regulatory cells (FOXp3) and Th-17 (RORɣ) in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Clin Immunol Commun. 2022 Dec 1;2:62–8.doi.org/10.1016/j.clicom.2022.03.005
    • Mishra N,>Sharma S, Dobhal A, Kumar S, Chawla H, Singh R, Makhdoomi MA, Das BK, Lodha R, Kabra SK, Luthra K. Broadly neutralizing plasma antibodies effective against autologous circulating viruses in infants with multivariant HIV-1 infection. Nat Commun. 2020 Sep 2;11(1):4409. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18225-x.
    • Mishra N,>Sharma S, Dobhal A, Kumar S, Chawla H, Singh R, Das BK, Kabra SK, Lodha R, Luthra K. A rare mutation in an infant derived HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein alters interprotomer stability and susceptibility to broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting the trimer apex. J Virol. 2020 Jul 15:JVI.00814-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00814-20. Online ahead of print.
    • Mishra N,>Sharma S, Dobhal A, Luthra K. A versatile high throughput strategy for cloning the env gene of HIV-1.bioRxiv.2020.04.01.020735; doi: 10.1101/2020.04.010.020735.
    • Mishra N, Makhdoomi MA,>Sharma S, Kumar S, Dobhal A, Kumar D, Chawla H, Singh R, Kanga U, Das BK, Lodha R, Kabra SK, Luthra K. Viral Characteristics Associated with Maintenance of Elite Neutralizing Activity in Chronically HIV-1 Clade C-Infected Monozygotic Pediatric Twins.J Virol. 2019 Aug 13;93(17). pii: e00654-19. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00654-19. Print 2019 Sep 1.

    Workshops/Conferences/Symposium attended/ Awards and Distinctions

    • Qualified and secured 67thAll India rank in Joint CSIR-UGC Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lectureship (JRF-NET) exam, June 2019.
    • Qualified and secured 434thAll India Rank in GATE-2019 (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) for Life Sciences, February 2019.
    • 1stprize for M.Sc. Poster titled>“Generation and characterization of pseudoviruses from an adult HIV-1 infected long term non progressor for potential subtype C based immunogen design”at AIIMS first annual research day event, March 2019.
    • World Immunology Day Symposium on “Gazing into the Horizon of Immune System”, May 2018.
    • International Conference on Strategies for Environmental Protection and Management (ICSEPM-2016), December 2016.
    • Workshop on Intellectual property rights: culmination of research, September 2016.

    Association with professional bodies

    Life member of Indian Immunology society since April 2018.

    Patents filed

    • Invention titled “Development of CRISPR based detection assay for clade C Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1” Prof. Kalpana Luthra, Ms. Anjli Guar, Mr. Harsh Bhakhri, Mr. Nitesh Mishra,>Ms. Shaifali Sharma, Ms. Tanu Bansal, Prof. Subrata Sinha, Prof. Rakesh Lodha, Applied for patenting through AIIMS, New Delhi, in September 2022.
    • Invention titled>“Novel engineered HIV-1 Subtype-C envelope glycoprotein”Prof. Kalpana Luthra, Mr. Swarandeep Singh, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Mr. Nitesh Mishra,Ms.Shaifali Sharma, Dr. Muzamil Ashraf Makhdoomi, Dr. Rakesh Lodha. Applied for professional patenting through AIIMS, New Delhi, in December, 2021. (Reference Number: F:1-132/2021/P.Cell, Application Number: 202211004612)

    Dr. Sanket Katpara, Ph.D. Scholar

    Dr. Sanket Katpara

    Dr. Sanket Katpara is a second year PhD student at the department of biochemistry working under the chief supervision of Professor Kalpana Luthra in the HIV immunology lab. As part of his PhD thesis, he is working on “Generation and Characterization of recombinant anti-HIV-1 human monoclonal antibodies from HIV-1 infected individuals”. He is interested in generation of monoclonal antibodies that can target different epitopes on the HIV-1 envelope which can be used as a combinatorial therapy for the treatment of drug resistant HIV-1 infected individuals.

    Earlier he has also completed his M.D. under the supervision of Dr Kalpana Luthra at the Department of Biochemistry, AIIMS. (2017-2020) and worked as a senior resident at the Dept. of Biochemistry, AIIMS, New Delhi (2020-2023)

    Conferences/Poster or Oral Presentations/Workshops/Awards:

    • Poster presentation at the annual international science event BIOZEST 2019 at the South Asian University, New Delhi.
    • Qualified DNB (Biochemistry) exit exam 2021.
    • Attended symposia on Mathematics in Biomedical Science organized by Indian National Science Academy INSA
    • Participated in Hands-On workshop on "High Dimentional Flow Cytometry Panel Design and Data Analysis" organised by THSTI, Faridabad
    • Attended Sun Pharma Science Foundation National Annual Conference on the topic “CRISPER and the Clinic- So Near and Yet So Far”.
    • Attended 8thAnnual CME of Clinical Biochemistry-2019 on the topic “The Laboratory and Diabetes Mellitus- New Challenges, New concepts, New Measures” at Dept. of Biochemistry, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi
    • Delivered a talk on Molecular techniques in a workshop at “XX IAOMP National PG Convention-2023”, AIIMS, New Delhi
    • Secured 1st rank in DM/MCh entrance exam (INI-SS) for the subject Metabolism Medicine conducted for Jan-2024 session.

    Publications:

    • Kumar S, Singh S, Chatterjee A, Bajpai P, Sharma S, Katpara S, et al. Recognition determinants of improved HIV-1 neutralization by a heavy chain matured pediatric antibody. iScience. 2023 Aug 9;26(9):107579.
    • Kumar S, Batra H, Singh S, Chawla H, Singh R, Katpara S, et al. Effect of combination antiretroviral therapy on human immunodeficiency virus 1 specific antibody responses in subtype-C infected children. J Gen Virol. 2020;101(12):1289–99.

    Harsh Bhakhri, PhD Scholar:

    Harsh Bhakhri

    Mr. Harsh Bhakhri is a PhD scholar (Dec 2021-present) currently in third year, is working on the characterization of the B cell receptor repertoire in HIV-1 subtype C infected individuals and also in generation of human anti-HIV-1 monoclonal antibodies from infected individuals. He has interest in studying the BCR sequences and their association to neutralization response in a cohort of HIV-1 infected individuals. He is also looking into the neutralizing plasma antibody response against various SARS-COV2 variants in different vaccinees for assessment of the protective response of the vaccination drive in Indian population.

    He has also completed his M.Sc. in Biochemistry from AIIMS in 2021. His masters dissertation thesis work was to the role of M6A writer METTL3 and readers (IGF2BP1/3) in hematopoietic development and leukemogenesis. He has done his graduation in B.Sc. (Hons) Biochemistry from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi in 2019.

    Skills: Generation of pseudo-viruses, Generation of stable cell line, FACS, Neutralization assays, Single B-cell sorting, Single cell PCR, Molecular cloning, Site Directed Mutagenesis, Freestyle mammalian protein expression and purification, Size exclusion chromatography, Genomic data analysis using Galaxy server, R and Python.

    Favorite hobbies: Generation of lots of viruses, learning new skills, a little bit of graphic designing, music and badminton.

    Dr. Aradhana Sarma

    Dr. Aradhana Sarma

    Dr. Aradhana Sarma is a first year M.D. student at the Department of Biochemistry and is working under the chief supervision of Professor Kalpana Luthra. She is currently working on infectious molecular clones for her M.D. thesis titled “Generation and characterization of infectious molecular clones from HIV-1 viral envelopes derived from infected children”. With the help of this study, she intends to use the lab generated IMCs as potential tools in HIV-1 vaccine and entry inhibitor research.

    She has completed her MBBS from Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, Assam.

    Anil Kumar (Masalchi/Bearer Gd.II)

    Mr. Anil Kumar previously worked as a Lab Attendant in Prof. Luthra’s lab in a research project since May, 2003. He was responsible for smooth functioning and maintenance of the lab, which included packing of tips, autoclaving and sterilization of plastic/glasswares, washing of equipment and cleaning of culture lab. He has completed his 12th standard Delhi in 2013. He is employed as Masalchi/Bearer Gd.II from January 2020.

    Mr. Ajeesh T. Gangadharan (Junior Administrative Assistant)

    Mr. Ajeesh T. Gangadharan joined Dr.K Luthra’s Lab as a Data Entry Operator in a research project on 1st October, 2005. He completed his B.Com from MG University, Kerala in 2002 & Computer Diploma From NIIT, New Delhi in 2004. After the completion of 15 years of service in various research projects, in September 2021 he joined the same lab as a Junior Administrative Assistant. His nature of work includes entering and systematic maintenance of patient data in Excel sheet, to contact and sent written communications for getting quotations for chemicals, preparing supply orders, processing bills, maintaining Accounts of the project, preparing Utilization certificates & Statement of expenditure, maintaining stock register, compilation of the project reports etc..

    Mr. Abdul Wahid Hussain, Lab Technician

    Mr. Abdul Wahid Hussain is working as a Lab Technician in Dr. Kalpana Luthra’s lab in a research project since January, 2010. He is an expert phlebotomist. His nature of works are cell culture (mammalian and bacterial) media preparation, Buffers preparation etc., PCR, DNA isolation, Patient sample collection, PBMCs isolation, Protein purification, Biological substance distribution to collaborators, Procurement/ordering of chemicals and lab instruments maintenance. He has completed his M.Sc.MLT from NIMS university Jaipur, Rajasthan in year 2020.

    Publications:

    • Ray MD, Deo SVS, Luthra K, Mathur S, Anand P, Kumar R,Sharma S, Kahol S, Wahid A. Molecular linking of HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy) and T-regulatory cells (FOXp3) and Th-17 (RORɣ) in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Clin Immunol Commun. 2022 Dec 1;2:62–8.doi.org/10.1016/j.clicom.2022.03.005
    • Kumar S, Batra H, Singh S, Chawla H, Singh R, Katpara S, Hussain AW, Das BK, Lodha R, Kabra SK, Luthra K. Effect of combination antiretroviral therapy on human immunodeficiency virus 1 specific antibody responses in subtype-C infected children. J Gen Virol. 2020 Dec;101(12):1289-1299. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001480. Epub 2020 Sep 11. PMID: 32915123.
    • Khan L, Kumar R, Thiruvengadam R , parray HA , makhdoomi MA, Kumar S , Aggarwal H, Mohata M , Hussain A W, Das R, Varadarajan R, Bhattacharya J, Vajpayee M, Murugavel KG, Solomon S, Sinha S, Luthra K. Cross- neutralization anti-HIV-1 human single chain variable fragment(scFvs) against CD4 binding site and N332 glycan identified form a recombinant page library. Sci Rep.2017 Mar23;7:45163

    Suraj Kumar, Lab Technician

    Mr. Suraj Kumar joined Prof. Luthra’s lab in the Chronic Pancreatitis research project as a lab technician in June 2022. He completed his Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chemistry in the year 2022 through distance learning programme from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. Also, he has a Diploma in Medical Lab Technology (2022) from DPMI (Delhi Paramedical Management of Institute) and a Diploma in Information Technology (2019). He is an expert phlebotomist and a quick learner.

    His job duties include patient’s sample collection from OPD,Wards, OT’s, ICU (both adults and paediatrics), maintaining records of patient’s clinical data files, sample and reagents/consumable records, patient counselling, PBMC isolation, gel electrophoresis, cell culture media and buffer preparation. He is well versed in the sample processing steps of flow cytometry, macrophage culture, magnetic cell sorting, ELISA and Plasmid isolation (Mini and Midi kits) and is able to carry out flow cytometric data acquisition.

    In addition, he is also well trained in the usage of BSL-1 cabinet, Lyophilizer, Multi ELISA reader, Automated cell counter, inverted/ upright microscope, homogenizer, Nanodrop spectrophotometer, cell washer, pH meter, Weighing balance, Autoclave, water bath, hot air oven, centrifuge machines and CO2 Incubator shaker. Currently, he is in the process of learning the data analysis of Flow Cytometry and Mass Spectrometry.

    He has previously worked in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi and two other diagnostic centres where he had hands on experience in conducting routine laboratory tests along with RTPCR, ESR,H&E staining, Urine,stool,sputum culture, Leishman, Giemsa,Gram positive and negative staining, Blood group testing, Serology testing (Typhoid, HIV, HCV,HBSAg,Syphilis,Malaria,Dengue IgM/IgG) , BTCT testing and skin test. Apart from this, he gained operational knowledge of instruments like HPLC for HbA1C,ERBA Chem5X(semi-automated),Urinometer (fully automated),Sysmax Coulter, Hemoglobinometer,Fibrometer coagulation and Microtome.