Mamta Chawla Sarkar

Biography

Dr. Mamta Chawla-Sarkar joined as Scientist C in Division. of Virology, NICED, Kolkata in January 2006. Dr Chawla Sarkar gained her Master's in Zoology in 1992 from Calcutta University and acquired the degree of Ph.D from Bose Institute-Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 1999. She did her Post-doctoral research work as Research Associate for six years in the Center for drug discovery & development, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland. The research project was on analysis of the genes involved in antitumor effects of Interferons and the mechanisms underlying IFN resistance in tumors of different histopathologies. In addition she was also involved in project on role of heme insertion in dimerization and activity of inducible nitric oxide synthetase and study the effect of heme binding inhibitors in modulating NOS activity in various pathological disorders. After joining Division of Virology at NICED, Dr Chawla-Sarkar has been involved in studying two viruses namely Influenza virus and Rotavirus. Her research focus involves strain surveillance, Host-virus interaction and identifying cellular proteins involved in viral pathogenesis for developing potential antiviral targets. As a scientist -in-charge for Influenza surveillance in NICED, Dr Chawla-Sarkar was responsible for providing laboratory support for states in Eastern India during A/H1N1 pandemic in 2009. In 2010, she was promoted to Scientist D (Assistant Director). In 2013, she was elected Fellow of the National academy of science in India (NASI). She was honored with "National Women Bioscientist Award" by Department of Biotechnology in 2013. She is currently working on four projects: Multisite monitoring of Influenza Virus strains in India. Analysis of the Rotavirus-host cell interaction: Study of role of Rotavirus encoded proteins and host cellular proteins during virus infection. Analysis of the Rotavirus-host cell interaction: Study of role of Rotavirus encoded proteins and host cellular proteins during virus infection. National Rotavirus Surveillance Network. Dr. Chawla-Sarkar has trained number of students and project staff in various aspects of virus research. Six students have completed their Ph.D. program under her guidance and are now doing post doctoral training in USA and Europe. Currently six students are enrolled for Ph.D. under her guidance. She is the author of more than 65 research papers in the peer-reviewed international journals and two Book chapters in the area of Molecular biotechnology, Immunology, Biological Chemistry and Virology.

Research Interest

Innate immune response and intrinsic cellular defenses are effective antiviral strategies of the host. Most of these pathways are highly conserved and arose early in evolution. Interferons, the first line of defense mechanism are activated by the host cells in response to viral RNA or the dsRNA. IFNs induce synthesis of more than 300 cellular proteins such as RNase L, PKR, Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) with broad spectrum anti-viral activities, depending on cell type, virus, and other cytokines sensed by the cells. Many of these IFN-stimulated proteins have been studied in context of their signaling pathways in various viral infections, but still many remain to be explored in details. Not surprisingly, the viruses have evolved mechanisms for evading these responses by encoding wide range of inhibitory proteins. However, very little has been studied regarding role of rotavirus encoded proteins in modulation of cellular responses during infection. Thus to overcome the viral disease burden, there is a need to understand the role of host cell during viral pathogenesis. Identification of cellular proteins with anti viral function or the viral-encoded inhibitory proteins which help viruses to evade immune responsewill help in designing antiviral therapeutics.