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राष्ट्रीय पशु जैव प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान
National Institute of Animal Biotechnology
An Autonomous Institute of the Department of Biotechnology,
Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India
राष्ट्रीय पशु जैव प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान
National Institute of Animal Biotechnology
An Autonomous Institute of the Department of Biotechnology,
Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India
Dr. Sreedhar Chinnaswamy is a veterinary clinician trained in molecular biology and genetics. He has interests in molecular immunology and seeks to use new-age tools including OMICS methodologies to understand animal diseases with an aim to design suitable interventions.
He has worked as an independent researcher on the genetics of infectious diseases in humans at the BRIC-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani from the year 2010, before joining NIAB in 2024.
He is a recipient of the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance Intermediate fellowship in the past, and has served on various GoI funding agencies as an expert member in the area of infectious diseases.
He obtained his PhD from the Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University at College Station TX, USA in the year 2010. Before that he obtained two master’s degrees, one in Chemistry from the New Mexico State University, NM, USA and the other in Animal Biochemistry from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, UP, India in 2005 and 2003 respectively.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (BVSc & AH) in the year 1999 from the Bangalore Veterinary College, formerly under the University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Dr. Chinnaswamy has wide ranging research interests in animal health and disease. His research objectives are centered around the theme of host immunity, particularly innate immunity. One of the diseases of interest is bovine mastitis. Another area is to understand the molecular and/or genetic basis for certain beneficial traits (like disease resistance) observed in indigenous cattle breeds when compared to the exotic breeds or cross bred cattle.
He is also interested in type III interferons in animals, specifically to characterize the genes and their products and understand their significance as antiviral and immunomodulatory factors.
Another specific area of research is to understand the functioning of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of animal RNA viruses like Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). He also performs high-throughput screening to identify interactions between human host proteins and proteins from zoonotic viruses using novel fluorescence complementation assays. These objectives are aimed at identifying drug targets for zoonotic viruses.
Kaushik S, Bharatiya S, Roy DG, Panchariya D, Roy A, Raval D, Mondal A, Palit A, Chinnaswamy S. IFNL1 gene promoter single nucleotide polymorphism rs7247086 enhances transcription through a STAT-binding site. Cytokine. 2026 Aug 16;207:157200. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2026.157200. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42604633.
Evidence for a sex-dependent effect modification in the association between IFN-λ DNA polymorphisms and expression of IFN-λ and interferon-stimulated genes in human PBMCs. Roy DG, De M, Bharatiya S, Khedekar DA, Datta K, Bhattacharjee S, Chinnaswamy S. Cytokine. 2024 Oct 17;184:156779. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2024.156779. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39423653. Featured in Nature India, Nov 2024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/
IFN-λ3 is induced by Leishmania donovani and can inhibit parasite growth in cell line models but not in the mouse model while it shows significant association with leishmaniasis in humans. De M, Sukla S, Bharatiya S, Keshri S, Roy DG, Roy S, Dutta D, Saha S, Ejazi SA, Ravichandiran V, Ali N, Chatterjee M, Chinnaswamy S. Infect Immun. 2024 Jan 9:e0050423. doi: 10.1128/iai.00504-23. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38193711.
Gender-dependent multiple cross-phenotype association of interferon lambda genetic variants with peripheral blood profiles in healthy individuals. Roy DG, Singh L, Chaturvedi HK, Chinnaswamy S. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2024;12:e2292. PMID: 37795763.
A Novel Inactive Isoform with a Restored Reading Frame Is Expressed from the Human Interferon Lambda 4 TT Allele at rs368234815. Bharatiya S, Agarwal A, Chinnaswamy S. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2023;43(9):370–378; doi: 10.1089/jir.2022.0199. PMID: 36880961.
Distinct molecular phenotypes involving several human diseases are induced by IFN-λ3 and IFN-λ4 in monocyte-derived macrophages. De M, Bhushan A, Grubbe WS, Roy S, Mendoza JL, Chinnaswamy S. 2022. Genes Immun. 23: 73–84 PMID: 35115664 PMID: 35115664.
Transmission of B.1.617.2 Delta variant between vaccinated healthcare workers. Kemp SA, Cheng MTK, Hamilton WL, Kamelian K; Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), Singh S, Rakshit P, Agrawal A, Illingworth CJR, Gupta RK. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 21;12(1):10492. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-14411-7. PMID: 35729228; PMCID: PMC9212198. (As part of INSACOG)
Genomic characterization and epidemiology of an emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in Delhi, India. Dhar MS, …Chinnaswamy S, Biswas NK, Desai AS, Pattabiraman C, Manjunatha MV, Mani RS, Arunachal Udupi G, Abraham P, Atul PV, Cherian SS. (2021). Science. 2021 PMID: 34648303; PMCID: PMC7612010. (As part of INSACOG)
SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Delta variant replication and immune evasion. Mlcochova P et al. (2021). Nature. 2021 Nov;599(7883):114-119. PMID: 34488225; PMCID: PMC8566220. (As part of INSACOG)
Understanding the devastating second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Chinnaswamy S. American Journal of Human Biology. 2021, 33(6). e23671. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23671, PMID: 34469036
Functional genetic variants of the IFN-λ3 (IL28B) gene and transcription factor interactions on its promoter. Roy S, Roy DG, Bhushan A, Bharatiya S, Chinnaswamy S. Cytokine, 2021, 142, 155491.PMID: 33725487
Monocytes differentiated into macrophages and dendritic cells in the presence of human IFN-λ3 or IFN-λ4 show distinct phenotypes. De M, Bhushan A, Chinnaswamy S. J Leukoc Biol. 2021, 110(2): 357-374. PMID: 33205487
SARS-CoV-2 infection in India bucks the trend: Trained innate immunity? Chinnaswamy S. Am J Hum Biol. 2021, 33(6). e23504. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23504. PMID: 32965717
Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA identified in Eastern India: Possible implications for the ongoing outbreak in India and impact on viral structure and host susceptibility. Maitra A, Sarkar MC, Raheja H, Biswas NK, Chakraborti S, Singh AK, Ghosh S, Sarkar S, Patra S, Mondal RK, Ghosh T, Chatterjee A, Banu H, Majumdar A, Chinnaswamy S, Srinivasan N, Dutta S, DAS S. J Biosci. 2020;45(1):76. doi: 10.1007/s12038-020-00046-1. PMID: 32515358
The Genetic Association of IFN-λs with Human Inflammatory Disorders Remains a Conundrum. Chinnaswamy S, Kowalski ML. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2019 Oct;39(10):594-598. doi: 10.1089/jir.2019.0009. Epub 2019 Jun 4. PMID: 31161954
Identifying causal variants at the interferon lambda locus in case-control studies: Utilizing non-synonymous variant rs117648444 to probe the role of IFN-λ4. Bhushan A, Chinnaswamy S. Gene. 2018 Jul 20;664:168-180. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2018.04.076. Epub 2018 Apr 27 PMID: 29705128
A functional IFN-λ4-generating DNA polymorphism could protect older asthmatic women from aeroallergen sensitization and associate with clinical features of asthma. Chinnaswamy S, Wardzynska A, Pawelczyk M, Makowska J, Skaaby T, Mercader JM, Ahluwalia TS, Grarup N, Guindo-Martinez M, Bisgaard H, Torrents D, Linneberg A, Bønnelykke K, Kowalski ML. Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 5;7(1):10500. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-10467-y. PMID: 28874741
Confounding by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism rs117648444 (P70S) Affects the Association of Interferon Lambda Locus Variants with Response to Interferon-α-Ribavirin Therapy in Patients with Chronic Genotype 3 Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Bhushan A, Ghosh S, Bhattacharjee S, Chinnaswamy S. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2017 Aug;37(8):369-382. doi: 10.1089/jir.2017.0002. Epub 2017 Jul 20. PMID: 28727946
Gene-disease association with human IFNL locus polymorphisms extends beyond hepatitis C virus infections. Chinnaswamy S. Genes Immun. 2016 Jul;17(5):265-75. doi: 10.1038/gene.2016.24. Epub 2016 Jun 9. PMID: 27278127
Roles for Transcription Factors Sp1, NF-κB, IRF3, and IRF7 in Expression of the Human IFNL4 Gene. Chinnaswamy S, Bhushan A, Behera AK, Ghosh S, Rampurkar V, Chandra V, Pandit B, Kundu TK. Viral Immunol. 2016 Jan-Feb;29(1):49-63. doi: 10.1089/vim.2015.0076. Epub 2015 Dec 18. PMID: 26684959
Association of IL28B single nucleotide polymorphism rs8099917 with response to treatment in genotype 3 HCV-infected patients from India. Chinnaswamy S, Das K, Bairagya BB, Bhattacharyya C, Shalimar, Duseja A, Amarapurkar D, Rosangluaia, Chowdhury S, Konar A, Majumder PP, Chowdhury A. Trop Gastroenterol. 2014 Apr-Jun;35(2):96-102. doi: 10.7869/tg.187. PMID: 25470871
Genetic variants at the IFNL3 locus and their association with hepatitis C virus infections reveal novel insights into host-virus interactions. Chinnaswamy S. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2014 Jul;34(7):479-97. doi: 10.1089/jir.2013.0113. Epub 2014 Feb 20. PMID: 24555572
A single nucleotide polymorphism associated with hepatitis C virus infections located in the distal region of the IL28B promoter influences NF-κB-mediated gene transcription. Chinnaswamy S, Chatterjee S, Boopathi R, Mukherjee S, Bhattacharjee S, Kundu TK. PLoS One. 2013 Oct 8;8(10):e75495. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075495. eCollection 2013. PMID: 24116050
The adenine-rich tract in the 5ʹ-end of the hepatitis C virus ORF encodes a peptide regulating the binding of the C protein to RNA. Chinnaswamy S, Lott WB. Acta Virol. 2012;56(3):217-26. doi: 10.4149/av_2012_03_217. PMID: 23043601
Assays for RNA synthesis and replication by the hepatitis C virus Kao CC, Fan B, Chinnaswamy S, Cai H, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Deval J Frontiers in Biology. 2012; 7 (3), 233-245.
Conformations of the monomeric hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Chinnaswamy S#, Ayaluru M#, Yi G, Cai H, Palaninathan S and Kao CC. Virus Adaptation And Treatment, 2010; 2:21-39. (#equal contributions).
An update on the small molecule inhibitors of the HCV NS5B polymerase: effects on RNA synthesis in vitro, on cultured cells and potential resistance in viral quasispecies. Chinnaswamy S, Cai H and Kao CC. Virus Adaptation And Treatment, 2010; 2:73-89.
Regulation of de novo-initiated RNA synthesis in hepatitis C virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase by intermolecular interactions. Chinnaswamy S, Murali A, Li P, Fujisaki K, Kao CC. J Virol. 2010 Jun;84(12):5923-35. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02446-09. Epub 2010 Apr 7. PMID: 20375156
Mutations in the hepatitis C virus polymerase that increase RNA binding can confer resistance to cyclosporine A.Liu Z, Robida JM, Chinnaswamy S, Yi G, Robotham JM, Nelson HB, Irsigler A, Kao CC, Tang H. Hepatology. 2009 Jul;50(1):25-33. doi: 10.1002/hep.22987. PMID: 19489073
Impaired replication of hepatitis C virus containing mutations in a conserved NS5B retinoblastoma protein-binding motif. McGivern DR, Villanueva RA, Chinnaswamy S, Kao CC, Lemon SM. J Virol. 2009 Aug;83(15):7422-33. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00262-09. Epub 2009 May 20.PMID: 19458004
A locking mechanism regulates RNA synthesis and host protein interaction by the hepatitis C virus polymerase. Chinnaswamy S, Yarbrough I, Palaninathan S, Kumar CT, Vijayaraghavan V, Demeler B, Lemon SM, Sacchettini JC, Kao CC. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jul 18;283(29):20535-46. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M801490200. Epub 2008 Apr 28. PMID: 18442978
Current
1) Sapana Kaushik (PhD student)
2) Darshan Panchariya (PhD student)
3) Soumyajit Nag (PhD student)
4) Darshana Jain (PhD student)
5) Ritesh Kumar (Field Asst.)
6) Dhara Raval (Project Asst.)
Ongoing:
1. Functional characterization of an interferon lambda 1 gene promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (CRG/2022/004415)
Funding agency: ANRF (formerly SERB-CRG), INR 57 Lakhs
Duration: 36 months February 2024 to January 2027
2. Functional analysis of a novel human interferon lambda 4 (IFNL4) gene isoform and interrogation of an IFNL4 SNP (rs4803221) for novel functions (BT/PR50958/COT/142/54/2023)
Funding agency: DBT, Govt. of India, INR 75 Lakhs
Duration: Nov 2024-Oct 2027
Sreedhar Chinnaswamy
Scientist-G
Biotechnology Research Innovation Council (BRIC)-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology,
Hyderabad, Telangana-500032
Email: sreedhar[at]niab[dot]org[dot]in; sreedharc08[at]gmail[dot]com
Tel: +91 40 2312 0122
Looking for motivated graduate students and research fellows…
An Autonomous Institute of the Department of Biotechnology,
Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India
+91 40 2312 0103
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