Profile
I completed my basic education in veterinary sciences (BVSc & MVSc) from Maharashtra Animal & Fishery Sciences University, Nagpur, India. I did a Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India (2013). Following his Ph.D., I joined as DST/INSPIRE Faculty at the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad, India, and joined as a regular faculty at NIAB in January 2017.
Current Focus Areas
My laboratory research focuses on three specific areas of the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii: i) understanding the transcript maturation processes, particularly, RNA- capping and -splicing using a wide array of molecular biology approaches; ii) molecular epidemiology (seroprevalence & genotyping); and iii) development of point-of-care diagnostic assays.
Selected Publications
Deshmukh AS, Mitra P, Maruthi M.(2016) Cdk7 mediates RPB1-driven mRNA synthesis in Toxoplasma gondii. 19;6:35288.
Deshmukh AS, Mitra P, Maruthi M. (2018) Cdk-related kinase 9 regulates RNA polymerase II mediated transcription in Toxoplasma gondii. Biochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech. 1861(6):572-585.
Mitra P, Deshmukh AS, Gurupwar R, Kashyap P. (2019) Characterization of Toxoplasma gondii Spt5 like transcription elongation factor. Biochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech. 1862(2):184-197.
Deshmukh AS, Gurupwar R, Mitra P, Aswale K, Shinde S, Chaudhari S. (2021) Toxoplasma gondii induces robust humoral immune response against cyst wall antigens in chronically infected animals and humans. Microb Pathog.152:104643.
Roy M, Mishra V, Mitra P, Umbardand Y, Sapate V, Khan W, Deshmukh AS. (2024) Serological and Molecular Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Domestic Pigs Intended for Human Consumption and Potential Occupational Hazard to Pig Farmers in India. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 21(2):99-108.