Profile
I have been a faculty at NII from 2001. We have dissected novel signaling and trafficking pathways in malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and also in a related apicomplexan- Toxoplasma gondii. These studies provide novel insights into important processes involved in the parasite development, which include host cell invasion, parasite division and maturation. We have also had interest in neurodegeneration and reserach has shed light on the role of cell cycle proteins in Alzheimer's Disease. Our research has been supported by grants from international (The Wellcome Trust, UK, NIH, EU) and national agencies (Swarnajayanti Fellowship-DST, Team Science Grant- India Alliance, grants from DBT and SERB) and has received recognition from International (International Senior Research Fellowship- The Wellcome Trust, UK; Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award and the National Bioscience Award).
Current Focus Areas
We are investigating phospho-signaling networks involved in the division of malaria parasite. and are also dissecting parasite signaling pathways regulated by second messengers like phosphoinositides and calcium. Although a minor activity, we have been interested in how aberrant activation of cell cycle machinery causes neuronal apoptosis in Alzheimer's Disease.
Selected Publications
Rahul Singh Rawat, Ankit Gupta, Neelam Antil, Sonika Bhatnagar, Monika Singh, Akanksha Rawat, T S Keshava Prasad, Pushkar Sharma* (2023). Protein kinase PfPK2 mediated signalling is critical for host erythrocyte invasion by malaria parasite. Plos Pathogens Nov 21;19(11):e1011770. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011770.
Rahul Singh Rawat, Priyanka Bansal and Pushkar Sharma* (2022). A VPS15-like kinase regulates apicoplast biogenesis and autophagy by promoting PI3P generation in Toxoplasma gondii. Plos Pathogens Nov 1;18(11):e1010922. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010922.
Ranjana Maurya#, Anuj Tripathi#, Manish Kumar, Neelam Antil, Yoshiki Yamaryo-Botté, Praveen Kumar, Priyanka Bansal, Christian Doerig, Cyrille Y. Botté$, T.S. Keshava Prasad $ and Pushkar Sharma$,* (2022). PI4-kinase and PfCDPK7 signaling regulate phospholipid biosynthesis in P. falciparum. EMBO Reports Feb 3;23(2):e54022. doi: 10.15252/embr.202154022. #,$equal contributors
Sudhir Kumar#, Manish Kumar#, Roseleen Ekka, Jeffrey D. Dvorin, Aditya S. Paul, Anil K. Madugundu, Tim Gilberger, Harsha Gowda, Manoj T. Duraisingh, T.S. Keshava Prasad and Pushkar Sharma* (2017). PfCDPK1 mediated signaling in erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Nature Communications 8(1):63. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00053-1, # Equal Contributors.
Ankush Vaid#, Ravikant Ranjan#, Wynand Smythe, Heinrich Hoppe, Pushkar Sharma* (2010). PfPI3K, a Phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase from Plasmodium falciparum, is exported to the host erythrocyte and is involved in hemoglobin trafficking. Blood. 115: 2500-2507. # Equal Contributors.