faculty

Molecular Medicine

  • Introduction to Division
  • Key Personnel
  • Projects
  • Publications
  • Activities & Events
  • Careers
  • Focus Areas
  • Resources

Molecular Medicine

The Division of Molecular Medicine at St. John’s Research Institute (SJRI), Bengaluru, is dedicated to advancing translational research that bridges molecular insights with clinical outcomes. Its interdisciplinary focus spans cancer biology, hematology, renal genetics, and cell biology, with a strong emphasis on long‑term patient cohorts, mechanistic studies, and clinically relevant biomarkers. The division fosters collaboration across disciplines while nurturing the next generation of researchers.

Faculty Highlights:

  • Dr. Jyothi S. Prabhu – Leads breast cancer research, establishing the breast cancer cohort and mapping molecular correlates of patient outcomes.
  • Dr. Alok Srivastava – Pioneers hematology and stem cell biology, translating discoveries into therapies for blood disorders.
  • Dr. Anil Vasudevan– Investigates renal genetics, focusing on inherited kidney diseases and their molecular basis.
  • Dr. Neha Vyas – Explores  how exovesicular Hedgehog release and miRNA packaging regulate Shh function in tissue patterning and cancer through tumor–stroma interactions.
  • Dr. Madhumathy G Nair – Studies epigenetic regulation and tumor microenvironmental influences in cancer, emphasizing microRNAs, drug resistance, and oral carcinogenesis.

Key Personnel

Unit Head

Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu
Professor

I am a physician-scientist trained in clinical pathology and molecular medicine, with over twenty years of experience...

Lead

Dr. Alok Srivastava
Senior Consultant /Department of Clinical Haematology & Bone Marrow Transplant

 Dr. Alok SrivastavaSenior Consultant, Department of Clinical HaematologyHead, Haematology Research Unit, St. John’s ...

Dr. Anil Vasudevan
Associate Professor

21 years and I absolutely love what I do. My goal is to provide the highest level of care for children with kidney di...

Dr. Neha Vyas
Associate Professor

Patterning of developing embryos requires signaling via different molecules in spacio-temporally regulated manner. He...

Dr. Madhumathy G Nair
Assistant Professor

Scientist with over 15 years of experience in oncology‑based translational research, and keen to explore the molecula...

Core Staff

Dr. Md. Manzoor Akhil
Project staff in Haematology research group

Dr. Md. Manzoor Akheel is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in cell and gene therapy research operati...

Anupama CE
Senior Lab Technician

I am actively involved in the histopathological processing and analysis of cancer tissues for research studies. My wo...

Mahalakshmi S
Senior Laboratory Technologist

As a Senior Lab Technologist, I am actively involved in performing molecular laboratory work and histopathological an...

Dr. Vidya Prasad Nimbalkar
NIH Fogarty INSIGHT fellow/ Research Scientist

I am a cancer biologist with interdisciplinary training in molecular biology, biophysics, and oncology, with a resear...

Dr. Sowmya N
Research Associate

I am engaged in investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying aging through the identification and targeting of k...

Santhosh H.S
Lab Technician

Implement and execute the daily lab operations 

Saanvi Basu
Junior Research Fellow

Junior Research Fellow contributing to a DBT-funded study exploring dynamic epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity changes...

Revanth Gowda S R
Project Technical Support III

Project Technical Support III under ICMR-PPBC project.

PhD Students

Snijesh VP
PhD scholar

Interested in understanding the role of nuclear receptors specifically the cross-talks of Estrogen, Progesterone, And...

Ms Zoha Sadaqat
PhD scholar

PhD scholar 

Ms Chandrakala M
PhD scholar

PhD Scholar affiliated to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), working on a research project titled “Decipheri...

 Ms Apoorva D
PhD scholar

PhD Scholar affiliated with Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and currently working on a research project ti...

Aswani S
Ph.D scholar

CSIR-UGC JRF- Ph.D StudentPh.D Scholar affiliated to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), working on a researc...

Jaya Preethi A
Ph.D scholar

DST-INSPIRE FELLOW 2024Ph.D Scholar affiliated to Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), working on a research p...

Shivakumar K
PhD scholar

I am a bioinformatics consultant specializing in genome informatics and clinical and translational genomics, with a f...

List of ongoing projects with S.I. No, Project Title, Project Lead, and Year of Initiation.
S.I. No Project Title Project Lead Year of Initiation
1 From Dysplasia to Carcinoma: Profiling the Inflammatory and Fibrogenic Influences on Epithelial Plasticity in Oral Cancer to disinter the early transition genes Dr. Madhumathy G Nair 2026
2 Deciphering the complexity of postpartum breast cancer in young women- integrated analysis of genomic and spatial characteristics for improved patient outcomes Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2025
3 Development of an immunohistochemistry-based assay predicting lymphatic spread in oral cancer Dr. Madhumathy G Nair, Dr. Gayatri R 2025
4 Development of multi analyte cost effective liquid biopsy method for early detection of cancers Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2024
5 NephroS International: Transnational cohorts of nephritic syndrome - A unified approach to a global chronic disease Dr. Anil Vasudevan 2017
6 Genetic and cellular correlates to Lowe’s oculocerebro-renal syndrome (OCRL) in the Indian population Dr. Anil Vasudevan 2017
7 Shh signaling in cancer progression and drug-resistance Dr. Sitalakshmi Subramanian and Dr. Neha Vyas 2017
8 Mutation screening in children with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) using Next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform Dr. Anil Vasudevan 2016
9 Phenotypic and functional characterisation of monocyte subsets in chronic kidney disease and its impact on progression of disease and associated complications Dr. Anbazhagan Kolandaswamy 2016
10 Exovesicular release of Hedgehog and miRNA packaging Dr. Neha Vyas 2016
11 Biomarkers for early detection and prognosis of sepsis associated acute kidney injury Dr. Anil Vasudevan 2015
12 Molecular Basis of Nephrotic Syndrome Dr. Anil Vasudevan 2015
List of completed projects with S.I. No, Project Title, Project Lead, and Year of Initiation.
S.I. No Project Title Project Lead Year of Initiation
1 Development of AI and ML based tools for evaluation of histological parameters of clinical relevance in breast cancer Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2023
2 Artificial intelligence employed retrospective clinical study to identify the impact of approved non-oncology drugs on the prognosis of primary breast cancer patients Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2023
3 Evaluation the effect of circulating hormones on expression of PR isoforms and their downstream signaling Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2022
4 MITHRA: Mobile Mental Health in Community-Based Organizations: A Stepped Care Approach to Women's Mental Health Dr Krishnamachari Srinivasan and Dr Amritha Bhat 2021
5 To profile for differential miRNA expression between pro and anti-tumoral subsets of macrophages that influence breast cancer progression Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2021
6 Contractual Project for conducting pre-clinical studies to characterize the molecular mechanism of chemo sensitization of selected cancer cell lines by a novel compound. Dr. Madhumathy G Nair 2021
7 Breast Cancer in Pre-menopausal women- Evaluation of the role of steroid hormones in resistance to therapy Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2019
8 Does BRCA1 deficiency dictate the chemosensitivity in serous ovarian tumors? Evaluation of BRCA1 dysfunction by multimodality testing Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2019
9 Breast Cancer in Pre-menopausal women- Evaluation of the role of steroid hormones in resistance to therapy Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2019
10 To investigate the role of miR-18a in regulating metastatic progression of breast cancer. Dr. Madhumathy G Nair 2019
11 Circulating microRNA a novel prognostic and diagnostic biomarker of prediabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and its complications among Indians. Dr Sucharitha S 2019
12 Evaluating role of circulating DNA as biomarkers of tumor progression and response to therapy in neo-adjuvant setting of breast cancer - a pilot study Dr. Madhumathy G Nair, Dr. Rakesh S Ramesh, Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2019
13 To investigate the role of miR-18a in regulating metastatic progression of breast cancer. Dr. Madhumathy G Nair 2019
14 A study to evaluate the Vit D receptors and their signaling pathways in skeletal muscle among Indians with type 2 diabetes Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2018
15 Clinical and molecular landscapes of triple negative breast cancer in India and application to improved treatment decisions. Dr Aruna Korlimarla 2018
16 Evaluation of expression of chosen set of markers by immunohistochemistry on the tissue micro array (TMA) blocks of colorectal cancer (CRC) Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2017
17 Evaluation of expression of chosen set of markers by immunohistochemistry on the tissue micro array (TMA) blocks of colorectal cancer (CRC) Dr Jyothi S Prabhu 2017
18 Investigating the role of BLM helicaseas a global tumor suppressor: Clinical applications. Dr. Jyothi S. Prabhu 2015
19 Evaluation of anti cancer activity of CNX-013-B2 and other anti cancer agents in control of multiple cancer types Dr. T.S Sridhar 2015
20 Investigating role of BLM helicases, a global tumor suppressor: Clinical applications. Dr. Sagar Sengupta, Dr. Jyothi S. Prabhu 2015
21 The expression of human epithelial growth factor (HER) family of proteins in ovarian serous carcinomas and their relation to clinicopathological factors Dr. Julian Crasta, Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu 2015
22 DISC-B Denmark India in vivo screen for Cancer Biomarkers Dr. T.S Sridhar 2013
23 Examination of mechaniobiology of ER negative breast cancer tumors in Indian women Dr. T.S Sridhar 2012
24 Breast Cancer Patient support group activities Dr. T.S Sridhar 2011
25 Breast Cancer Patient support group activities-2 Dr. T.S Sridhar 2009
26 Prospective longitudinal study of breast cancer Dr. T.S Sridhar 2008
List of journal articles with S.I. No, Title, Authors, Journal Name, and Publication Year.
S.I. No Title Authors Journal Name Publication Year
1 Postpartum breast cancer as a distinct oncologic entity: linking physiological tissue remodelling to tumor biology and clinical translation Vidya P. Nimbalkar, Snijesh V. P., Akash Dash, Meenakshi Jothikumar, Anjaney J. Pandey, P. S. Hari, Aruna Korlimarla, Sabarinathan Radhakrishanan & Jyothi S. Prabhu Breast Cancer Research 2026
2 EPHA2-Ephrin-B1 cis-interaction drives an oncogenic reverse signaling, leading to the recurrence of oral cancer Reshma Raj R, Nandini Datta, Soumya Krishnan U, Geetha Shanmugam, Jiss Maria Louis, Ravichandran Damodaran Jeyaram, Keshava K. Datta, Harsha Gowda, Meghna Sarkar, Madhumathy G. Nair, Jyothy S. Prabhu, Hafsa Shabeer, Balagopal P. G, Thameem A, Alan Jose, Vishnu Sunil Jaikumar & Tessy Thomas Maliekal Cell Communication and Signaling 2026
3 Spatial profiling reveals unique immune microenvironment in premenopausal triple-negative breast cancer associated with therapy response Vidya P. Nimbalkar, V. P. Snijesh, Savitha Rajarajan, C. E. Anupama, S. Mahalakshmi, Annie Alexander, Deshica Dechamma, Manju Moorthy, Gopalakrishna Ramaswamy, Rakesh Ramesh, B. S. Srinath & Jyothi S. Prabhu Journal of Translational Medicine 2025
4 Differential role of glucocorticoid receptor based on its cell type specific expression on tumor cells and infiltrating lymphocytes Snijesh VP, Nimbalkar VP, Patil S, Rajarajan S, Anupama CE, Mahalakshmi S, Alexander A, Soundharya R, Ramesh R, Srinath BS, Jolly MK, Prabhu JS Translational oncology 2024
5 Real time-PCR a diagnostic tool for reporting copy number variation and relative gene-expression changes in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia-a pilot study Zoha Sadaqat, Smitha Joseph, Chandrika Verma, Jyothi Muni Reddy, Anand Prakash, Tinku Thomas, Vandana Bharadwaj, Neha Vyas Biology Methods and Protocol 2024
6 α-Fodrin-CENP-E interaction is critical for pancreatic cancer progression and drug response Jyothy A, Hussain J, S SC, Chandraprabha VR, Nair MG, Vasudevan S, Sreedharan H, Abraham B, Maliekal TT, Natarajan K, Sengupta S. Cell Cycle 2024
7 Increased prevalence of hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal state and enhanced phenotypic heterogeneity in basal breast cancer Sahoo S, Ramu S, Nair MG, Pillai M, San Juan BP, Milioli HZ, Mandal S, Naidu CM, Mavatkar AD, Subramaniam H, Neogi AG, Chaffer CL, Prabhu JS, Somarelli JA, Jolly MK. iScience 2024
8 Elucidating the Role of MicroRNA-18a in Propelling a Hybrid Epithelial-Mesenchymal Phenotype and Driving Malignant Progression in ER-Negative Breast Cancer Nair MG, Mavatkar AD, Naidu CM, V P S, C E A, Rajarajan S, Sahoo S, Mohan G, Jaikumar VS, Ramesh RS, B S S, Jolly MK, Maliekal TT, Prabhu JS Cells 2024
9 A comparative analysis of clinicopathological features and survival between pre and postmenopausal breast cancer from an Indian cohort. Nimbalkar VP, Rajarajan S, V P S, Alexander A, Kaluve R, Selvam S, Ramesh R, B S S, Prabhu JS. Sci Rep 2023
10 An androgen receptor regulated gene score is associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition features in triple negative breast cancers Rajarajan S, Snijesh VP, Anupama CE, Nair MG, Mavatkar AD, Naidu CM, Patil S, Nimbalkar VP, Alexander A, Pillai M, Jolly MK, Sabarinathan R, Ramesh RS, Bs S, Prabhu JS Translational Oncology 2023
11 PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling transduction pathway and targeted therapies in cancer Glaviano A, Foo ASC, Lam HY, Yap KCH, Jacot W, Jones RH, Eng H, Nair MG, Makvandi P, Geoerger B, Kulke MH, Baird RD, Prabhu JS, Carbone D, Pecoraro C, Teh DBL, Sethi G, Cavalieri V, Lin KH, Javidi-Sharifi NR, Toska E, Davids MS, Brown JR, Diana P, Stebbing J, Fruman DA, Kumar AP Molecular Cancer 2023
12 The dynamic tumor-stromal crosstalk: implications of 'stromal-hot' tumors in the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer Mavatkar AD, Naidu CM, Prabhu JS, Nair MG Molecular Biology Reports 2023
13 Cell State Transitions and Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Luminal Breast Cancer Implicating MicroRNAs as Potential Regulators Richard V, Nair MG, Jaikumar VS, Jones S, Prabhu JS, Kerin MJ International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2023
14 Estimation of ALU Repetitive Elements in Plasma as a Cost-Effective Liquid Biopsy Tool for Disease Prognosis in Breast Cancer Nair MG, Ramesh RS, Naidu CM, Mavatkar AD, V P S, Ramamurthy V, Somashekaraiah VM, C E A, Raghunathan K, Panigrahi A, Das M, Dhar SK, Prabhu JS Cancers 2023
15 Comprehensive characterization of immune landscape of Indian and Western triple negative breast cancers Korlimarla A, Ps H, Prabhu J, Ragulan C, Patil Y, Vp S, Desai K, Mathews A, Appachu S, Diwakar RB, Bs S, Melcher A, Cheang M, Sadanandam A Transl Oncol 2022
16 miR-18a Mediates Immune Evasion in ER-Positive Breast Cancer through Wnt Signaling Nair MG, D A, M C, Vp S, Patil S, Ce A, Mukherjee G, Kumar RV, Prabhu JS, Ts S Cells 2022
17 Pre-Menopausal Women With Breast Cancers Having High AR/ER Ratios in the Context of Higher Circulating Testosterone Tend to Have Poorer Outcomes Rajarajan S, Korlimarla A, Alexander A, Anupama CE, Ramesh R, Srinath BS, Sridhar TS, Prabhu JS Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2021
18 miRNAs: Critical mediators of breast cancer metastatic programming Nair MG, Somashekaraiah VM, Ramamurthy V, Prabhu JS, Sridhar TS Experimental Cell Research 2021
19 High expression of ACE2 in HER2 subtype of breast cancer is a marker of poor prognosis Nair MG, Prabhu JS, Ts S Cancer Treatment and Research Communications 2021
20 miR-18a activates Wnt pathway in ER-positive breast cancer and is associated with poor prognosis Nair MG, Prabhu JS, Korlimarla A, Rajarajan S, P S H, Kaul R, Alexander A, Raghavan R, B S S, T S S Cancer Medicine 2020
21 The Impact of Breast Cancer on the Patient and the Family in Indian Perspective Alexander A, Kaluve R, Prabhu JS, Korlimarla A, Srinath BS, Manjunath S, Patil S, Gopinath KS, Sridhar TS. Indian J Palliat Care 2019
22 HR+HER2- breast cancers with growth factor receptor-mediated EMT have a poor prognosis and lapatinib downregulates EMT in MCF-7 cells Desai K, Aiyappa R, Prabhu JS, Nair MG, Lawrence PV, Korlimarla A, Ce A, Alexander A, Kaluve RS, Manjunath S, Correa M, Srinath BS, Patil S, Kalamdani A, Prasad M, Sridhar TS Tumour Biology 2017
23 Dissecting the Biological Heterogeneity within Hormone Receptor Positive HER2 Negative Breast Cancer by Gene Expression Markers Identifies Indolent Tumors within Late Stage Disease Prabhu JS, Korlimarla A, Anupama CE, Alexander A, Raghavan R, Kaul R, Desai K, Rajarajan S, Manjunath S, Correa M, Raman R, Kalamdani A, Prasad M, Patil S, Gopinath KS, Srinath BS, Sridhar TS. Transl Oncol 2017
24 Identification of BRCA1 Deficiency Using Multi-Analyte Estimation of BRCA1 and Its Repressors in FFPE Tumor Samples from Patients with Triple Negative Breast Cancer Korlimarla A, Prabhu JS, Remacle J, Rajarajan S, Raja U, C E A, Srinath BS, Manjunath S, K S G, Correa M, M S N P, Sridhar TS PLoS One 2016
25 High expression of integrin β6 in association with the Rho-Rac pathway identifies a poor prognostic subgroup within HER2 amplified breast cancers Desai K, Nair MG, Prabhu JS, Vinod A, Korlimarla A, Rajarajan S, Aiyappa R, Kaluve RS, Alexander A, Hari PS, Mukherjee G, Kumar RV, Manjunath S, Correa M, Srinath BS, Patil S, Prasad MS, Gopinath KS, Rao RN, Violette SM, Weinreb PH, Sridhar TS Cancer Medicine 2016
26 β3 integrin promotes chemoresistance to epirubicin in MDA-MB-231 through repression of the pro-apoptotic protein, BAD Nair MG, Desai K, Prabhu JS, Hari PS, Remacle J, Sridhar TS Experimental Cell Research 2016
27 Data on alteration of hormone and growth factor receptor profiles over progressive passages of breast cancer cell lines representing different clinical subtypes Nair MG, Desai K, Prabhu JS, Hari PS, Remacle J, Sridhar TS Data Brief 2016
28 TM1-IR680 peptide for assessment of surgical margin and lymph node metastasis in murine orthotopic model of oral cancer Suganya S AA, Kochurani KJ, Nair MG, Louis JM, Sankaran S, Rajagopal R, Kumar KS, Abraham P, P G B, Sebastian P, Somananthan T, Maliekal TT Scientific Reports 2016
29 Live detection and purification of cells based on the expression of a histone chaperone, HIRA, using a binding peptide Kochurani KJ, Suganya AA, Nair MG, Louis JM, Majumder A, Kumar SK, Abraham P, Dutta D, Maliekal TT Scientific Reports 2015
30 Separate Quality-Control Measures Are Necessary for Estimation of RNA and Methylated DNA from Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Specimens by Quantitative PCR Korlimarla A, Prabhu JS, Anupama CE, Remacle J, Wahi K, Sridhar TS J Mol Diagn 2014
31 A Majority of Low (1-10%) ER Positive Breast Cancers Behave Like Hormone Receptor Negative Tumors Prabhu JS, Korlimarla A, Desai K, Alexander A, Raghavan R, Anupama C, Dendukuri N, Manjunath S, Correa M, Raman N, Kalamdani A, Prasad M, Gopinath KS, Srinath BS, Sridhar TS J Cancer 2014
32 Identification of a non-canonical nuclear localization signal (NLS) in BRCA1 that could mediate nuclear localization of splice variants lacking the classical NLS Korlimarla A, Bhandary L, Prabhu JS, Shankar H, Sankaranarayanan H, Kumar P, Remacle J, Natarajan D, Sridhar TS Cell Mol Biol Lett 2013
33 Side population cells as prototype of chemoresistant, tumor-initiating cells Richard V, Nair MG, Santhosh Kumar TR, Pillai MR Biomed Research International 2013
34 Multiple drug resistant, tumorigenic stem-like cells in oral cancer Richard V, Sebastian P, Nair MG, Nair SN, Malieckal TT, Santhosh Kumar TR, Pillai MR Cancer Letter 2013
35 The epigenetic silencing of the estrogen receptor (ER) by hypermethylation of the ESR1 promoter is seen predominantly in triple-negative breast cancers in Indian women Prabhu JS, Wahi K, Korlimarla A, Correa M, Manjunath S, Raman N, Srinath BS, Sridhar TS Tumour Biol 2012

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