I finished bachelor’s and master’s in Microbiology from Sri Venkateswara University, India. Later I completed PhD in Cancer Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany in 2014. I joined as a post-doctoral fellow at Cleveland clinic in the department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences where I am currently continuing as a staff scientist. I have long-standing interests on underlying molecular mechanisms leading to human diseases esp., Fibrosis, Atherosclerosis, Atrial Fibrillation and Cancer. With specific interests including the role of extracellular matrix proteins (especially thrombospondin-4); the molecular mechanisms of regulation of vascular genes; the mechanisms of accelerated angiogenesis; and the regulation of tumor growth. The focus is to study the role of thrombospondin-4 in the regulation of the abovementioned human diseases in response to growth factors like TGF-beta1.

Thrombospondin-4 (TSP4) is a matricellular protein from the thrombospondin family of proteins (TSP) that consists of five homologous but differentially expressed proteins that are products of five different genes on different chromosomes. Recent reports about important TSP4 functions in cardiovascular system, cancer and nervous system attracted more attention to this understudied TSP, but many of its functions and its regulation still remain unknown. Our work in Thbs4-/- mice revealed that TSP4 promotes atherosclerotic lesions, regulates the local vascular inflammation, and supports accumulation of macrophages in atherosclerotic lesion. TSP-4 is an important mediator of TGF-ß1 (transforming growth factor ß1) induced angiogenesis and cancer growth. I have long-standing interests in identifying underlying molecular mechanisms leading to human diseases esp., Atherosclerosis and Cancer. With specific interests describing the role of thrombospondin-4; the molecular mechanisms of regulation of inflammation in vascular walls; the mechanisms of accelerated angiogenesis; and the regulation of tumor growth. The focus is to specify the role of thrombospondin-4 in the regulation of atherosclerosis and cancer in response to TGF-ß1.