Dr. Nandi’s research interests involve the study of molecular evolution of human and non-human primate lentiviruses, mechanism of pathogenesis and inflammatory complications of HIV and SIV infections. During her tenure at NIV, Pune, India, she taught molecular virology of retroviruses to students of M.Sc. of the Pune University, where she held Adjunct Professor’s post. She had several students registered with her for the Ph.D. program. She has been examiner of Ph.D. program in Biological Sciences of the Devi Ahilya Bai University, Indore, M.P. and examiner for M.Sc in Clinical Biochemistry, University of Nagpur.  On her return to India from London, U.K. in 1997, she was successful in getting a collaborative research grant from the European Commission, Brussels, Belgium to investigate molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in India. However the grant could not be activated due to lack of support from NIV, Pune.

 

 

      Later she successfully defended a grant application to the ICMR in 2000 to investigate simian retroviruses from Indian primates in collaboration with her primatologist colleagues from Jodhpur. The procedural delay in the release of funding led to her decision to resign from her post at NIV, Pune in 2002.

      Unlike her contemporaries, she moved to the U.S. rather late in life. She joined the Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, NIAID, NIH in late 2002 as a visiting Research Fellow. Here she worked on the evolution of envelope gene of SIV with reference to slow and rapid progressors to AIDS in a primate model using two different primate species, the African Green Monkeys and the pig-tailed macaques that were experimentally infected with SIVagm.

      She also worked independently on a project to investigate simian retroviruses from common Indian primates. She discovered another new simian retrovirus, SRV-7 from the wild rhesus monkeys from India. This report has just been published online in ‘Virus Genes’.

 

 

      Her current work involves immunological studies related to Cryptococcal infection in HIV infected smokers and effects of nicotine in vivo in a mouse model and in viro in T cell lines. She has identified, cloned and sequenced a novel gene, Ric 3 that is likely to have a role in the proper folding of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in immune cells. Other areas of research involve Th1/Th2 lineage determination by over expression of specific gene promoters in T cell line by transient transfection experiments using electroporation and by chemical methods.

 

      Her main contributions to the field of basic research on retroviruses are the recognition of unintegrated viral DNA as a molecular marker for HIV infection in early 1990’s. More recently her contribution relates to the discovery of novel simian retroviruses from common Indian primates, a totally uncharted area of research in the evolutionary history of primate retroviruses with implications for emerging infectious diseases by cross species transmission of retroviruses from Indian primates.

 

She could be reached at  

Jayashree S. Nandi (nee Mitra), Ph.D.         

Associate Research Scientist,

Immunology Programme

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute,

2425 Ridgecrest Drive, SE,

Albuquerque, NM 87108

 

Her honors and scientific career details follows:

           

Education

Ø      B.Sc. 1967, Ravishankar University, Raipur (MP), India Chemistry, Botany, Zoology.

Ø      M.Sc. 1969, Department of Biochemistry Nagpur University, Nagpur, India.

Ø      Ph.D. 1978, Faculty of Science, University of Pune, India.

 

Honors.

Ø      First rank in Pre-Professional (Medical) Examination, Ravishankar University, Raipur, India, 1965.

Ø      First rank in the University in B.Sc. (Final examination) with distinctions in Chemistry and Botany.

Ø      First rank in M.Sc. Biochemistry (Final examination)

 

Awards:

 

Ø      College Gold Medal, 1965

Ø      National Science Talent Search Scholar, India, 1965-1967

Ø      National Merit Scholar, India, 1967-1969

Ø      Gen. R. S. Hoon Award, Armed Forces Medical Services, Ministry of Defense, Government of India, 1995.

Ø      Wellcome Trust International Fellowship, London, UK, (1995-97).

Ø      Employment

Ø      1979 - 1981     Research Associate, Department of Microbiology, Madurai Medical College, Madurai, India.

Ø      1982-86 : Hiatus to raise twin sons.

Ø      1987 - 1989     Research Associate, Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Ø      1990 - 1992     Research Officer, Department of Hepatitis and AIDS National Institute of Virology, Pune, India

Ø      1995 - 1997     Wellcome Trust Visiting Fellow and Honorary Member of the Faculty, Department of Virology, University College London Medical School, London, UK

Ø      1992 - 2002     Assistant Director and Head, Department of Retrovirology, National Institute of Virology, Pune, India

Ø      2002 - 2004     Visiting Research Scholar, Lab of Molecular Microbiology, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, MD

Ø      8/04 - Present            Associate Research Scientist, Respiratory Immunology and Asthma Program, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM

Ø      2004 - Present Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Ø      Invited participations in international meetings:  Dr. Nandi visited Tanzania in East Africa to co-Chair EU sponsored International meetings on HIV subtype and vaccine development in 1997.

Ø      She was invited as Advisor by WHO to participate in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Regional Workshops on HIV diagnostics held at Bangkok (Thailand) in 1999 and Melbourne (Australia), in 2000

Ø      Member, Special emphasis panel and Consultant, Review Committee, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH (NIH RFA-HL-04-031, 2005.

Ø      Member of reviewer’s Board of the journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Reviewed articles on Molecular Phylogeny of New SIV Strains from Zaire and Introduction of Non-subtype B HIV-1 in North America in an Antenatal Setting.

Ø      Member of reviewer’s board of National Medical Journal of India since 1994.

Ø      Reviewed Antisense Therapeutics, M. Ian Phillips, Humana Press, NJ, 2004

 

Membership of scientific Body:

Life member of Society of Biological Chemists, India (Since 1990)

Full member of American Society of Virologists (2005-2006)

Full member of American Society of Cell Biology (2006-).

 

 

Selected peer-reviewed publications (in chronological order).

 

1. Nandi, J.:  Characterization of third beta-chain variant in Rattus rattus rufescens.  Indian J. Biochem. Biophys. 27(3): 136-140, 1990.
2. Nandi, J. and S. Ramajeyam:  Purification of antigen for serodiagnosis of echinococcosis.  Indian J. Pathol. Microbiol. 33(4): 344-350, 1990.
3. Nandi, J. and K. Banerjee:  Alternative mode of replication of human immunodeficiency virus:  A Hypothesis.  Med. Hypotheses 40: 1-7, 1993.
4. Nandi, J., K. Banerjee, M. Thakar, V. Bhavalkar and J. Rodrigues:  Human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection in spouses of seropositive individuals.  Natl. Med. J. India 6: 156-159, 1993.
5. Nandi, J., V. Bhavalkar, H. Mody, A. Elavia, P. K. Desai and K. Banerjee:  Detection of HIV 1, HBV and HCV antibodies in blood donors from Surat, Western India.  Vox Sang. 67: 406-407, 1994.
6. Nandi, J., H. Kamat, V. Bhavalkar and K. Banerjee:  Detection of human immunodeficiency virus antibody infection among homosexual men from Bombay.  Sex. Transm. Dis. 21: 235-236, 1994.
7. Elavia, A. J., A. Thomas, J. Nandi, G. D. Coyaji and V. Bhavalkar-Potdar:  Performance evaluation of a particle agglutination test for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus 1:  Comparison with enzyme immunoassay.  Vox Sang. 69: 23-26, 1995.
8. Nandi, J.:  Scientific data on HIV transmission.  Natl. Med. J. India 8: 95, 1995.
9. Nandi, J. and K. Banerjee:  Tyrosine phosphorylation as a possible regulatory mechanism in the expression of human immunodeficiency virus genes.  Med. Hypotheses 45: 476-480, 1995.
10. Korber, B., M. Hoelscher, et al (with inputs from all delegates from 48 countries including J. Nandi from India):  Workshop report on HIV-1 subtypes:  Implications for epidemiology, pathogenicity, vaccines and diagnostics (DGXII INCO/DC of the European Commission and UNAIDS).  AIDS 11: s17-s36, 1997.
11. Nandi, J. S.:  Unintegrated viral DNA as a marker for human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection in vivo and in vitro.  Acta Virol. 43: 367-372, 1999.
12. Nandi, J. S., V. Bhavalkar-Potdar, S. Tikute and C. G. Raut:  A novel type D simian retrovirus naturally infecting the Indian Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus entellus).  Virology 277: 6-13, 2000.  Abstract of the same work is published in Antivir. Ther. 5: 49, 2000.
13. Nandi, J. S., S. A. Tikute, A. K. Chhangani, V. A. Potdar, M. Tiwari-Mishra, R. A. Ashtekar, J. Kumari, A. Walimbe and S. M. Mohnot:  Natural infection by simian retrovirus-6 (SRV-6) in Hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus entellus) from two different geographical regions of India.  Virology 311: 192-201, 2003.
14. Goldstein, S., C. R. Brown, I. Ourmanov, I. Pandera, A. Buckler-White, C. Erb, J. S. Nandi, G. J. Foster, P. Autissier, J. E. Schmitz, and V. M. Hirsch Comparison of SIVagmVer Replication and CD4+ T Cell Dynamics in Vervet and Sabaeus African Green Monkeys. J. Virol. 2006 80: 4868-4877.
15. Nandi J. S., S. Van Dooren, A.K. Chhangani, and S. M. Mohnot,  A new recombinant β retrovirus from the feral rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) from Jaipur Rajasthan, India. Virus Genes. 2006 Aug;33(1):107-16.