Profile
Education: M.Sc.: Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Ph.D.: Institute of Life Science, Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Post-Doctoral Positions: 1) 1997-1999: National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. 2) 1999-2003: University of Southern California, CA, USA. 3) 2003-2007: McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, Montana, USA. Research Interest: Major aim of my lab is to understand molecular mechanisms behind prion protein (PrPSc)-mediated cellular pathology associated in prion disease (PD). Briefly, cellular pathology vary from cell survival, death, abnormal differentiation/de-differentiation to disease specific alterations of cells from their normal behavior. In order to study these processes, my lab has developed both CNS stem/progenitor cells (neurosphere)-based cellular model and animal model of PD. Such models not only manifest hallmark pathology of prion disease but also provide opportunities to study the effect of endogenously produced prion protein on almost all mature brain cells in vitro and mechanisms of neuropathology of prion disease in mice brains respectively.
Current Focus Areas
Neuropathology of prion diseases ranges from neuronal cell death to astrogliosis and microgliosis. Interestingly, death receptors regulate both cell survival/proliferation and cell death. Therefore, currently, my lab is working on how prion protein accumulation effect neuropathology of prion disease with respect to factors related to death receptors pathways.
Selected Publications
1) Giri RK. (2024). Molecular Signatures in Prion Disease: Altered Death Receptor Pathways in a Mouse Model. J Transl Med., 22(1):503. 2) Sidhar H, Giri RK. (2017). Induction of Bex genes by curcumin is associated with apoptosis and activation of p53 in N2a neuroblastoma cells. Sci Rep., 7:41420. 3) Ghate PS, Sidhar H, Carlson GA and Giri RK. (2014). Development of a novel cellular model of Alzheimer’s disease utilizing neurosphere cultures derived from B6C3-Tg(APPswe,PSEN1dE9)85Dbo/J embryonic mouse brain. Springerplus, 3:161. 4) Sahu U, Sidhar H, Ghate PS, Advirao GM, Raghavan SC, Giri RK. (2013). A Novel Anticancer Agent, 8-Methoxypyrimido[4',5':4,5]thieno(2,3-b) Quinoline-4(3H)-One Induces Neuro 2a Neuroblastoma Cell Death through p53-Dependent, Caspase-Dependent and -Independent Apoptotic Pathways. PLoS One. 8(6):e66430. 5) Giri RK, Young R, Pitstick R, DeArmond SD, Prusiner SB and Carlson GA. (2006). Prion infection of mouse neurospheres. PNAS (USA), 103 (10): 3875-80.