Associate Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi, India (2021-Present)
Assistant Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi, India (2012-2021)
Post-doctoral Scholar, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA (2008-2012)
Post-doctoral fellow (American Heart Association Fellowship), Yale Child Health Research Centre, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA (2005-2008)
Qualifications
Ph.D. (2005): University of Freiburg Medical School, Freiburg, Germany
M.Sc. (2000): Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-B), Mumbai,India , in 2000
B.Sc. (1998): Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India , in 1998
Research Interests
Modulation of innate immune cell activity (macrophages & microglia) through ATP and its metabolites
Mitochondrial dynamics during early neurodegeneration
Metastasis and tumor control through P2 receptor modulation
Recent Publications
P2Y12 receptor-mediated cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expression enhances tumor cell progression in a mouse model of lymphoma. Purinergic Signaling (2024). doi: 0.1007/s11302-024-10057-4. [Read here: https://rdcu.be/dYrHF]
Sharma S, Kalra H, Akundi RS*. Extracellular ATP mediates cancer cell migration and invasion through increased expression of cyclooxygenase 2. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2021), 11:617211. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.617211.
Sharma RK, Singh M, Ghimeray K, Juneja P, Dev G, Pulavarthi S, Reddy SR, Akundi RS*. Imidazopyridazine acetylcholinesterase inhibitors display potent anti-proliferative effects in the human neuroblastoma cell-line, IMR-32. Molecules (2021), 26(17):5319. doi: 10.3390/molecules26175319.
Raj K, Akundi RS*. Mutant ataxin-3 containing aggregates (MATAGGs) in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3: dynamics of the disorder. Molecular Neurobiology (2021), 58(7):3095-3118. doi: 10.1007/s12035-021-02314-z.
Akter S, Sharma RK, Sharma S, Rastogi S, Fiebich BL, Akundi RS*. Exogenous ATP modulates prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) release in macrophages through sustained phosphorylation of CDK9 and p38 MAPK. Journal of Leukocyte Biology (2020), 110(4):663-677.
Agnihotri SK, Sun L, Yee BK, Shen R, Akundi RS, Zhi L, Duncan MJ, Cass WA, Bueler H (2019) Pink1 deficiency is associated with increased deficits of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and lowers the threshold for stress-induced depression in mice. Behavioural Brain Research 363:161-172.
Sharma S, Akundi RS. Mitochondria: A connecting link in the major depressive disorder jigsaw. Current Neuropharmacology (2019) 17(6):550-562.
Fiebich BL, Akter S, Akundi RS. The two-hit hypothesis for neuroinflammation: role of exogenous ATP in modulating inflammation in the brain. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (2014) 8, 260.
Ellis GI, Zhi L, Akundi R, Bueler H, Marti F. Mitochondrial and cytosolic roles of PINK1 shape induced regulatory T cell development and function. European Journal of Immunology (2013) 43:3355-60.
Akundi RS, Zhi L, Bueler H. Pink1 enhances insulin-like growth factor 1–dependent Akt signalling and protection against apoptosis. Neurobiology of Disease (2012), 45(1): 469-78.
Back SA, Craig A, Ling Luo N, Ren J, Akundi RS, Ribeiro I, Rivkees SA. Protective effects of caffeine on chronic hypoxia-induced perinatal white matter injury. Annals of Neurology (2006), 60:696-705.
Akundi RS, Candelario-Jalil E, Hess S, Hüll M, Lieb K, Gebicke-Haerter P, Fiebich BL. Signal transduction pathways regulating cyclooxygenase-2 in primary rat microglia. Glia (2005), 51:199-208.
Awards & Honours
"P2 receptor-based
anti-inflammatory drugs (PBAIDs): Potential therapeutic agents against
sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma" by Cayman Biomedical Research Institute (CABRI), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (2022-24)
“Investigating the role of exogenous ATP in cancer metastasis” by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India (2017-2020)
“Investigating the role of exogenous ATP in modulating inflammation in the rodent brain” from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India (2017-2020)
“Sickle cell anaemia and its coexistence with alpha and beta thalassemia in a cohort of indigenous Tharu population of Nepal:Implications for the South Asian region” from Institute for South Asian Studies, South Asian University, New Delhi (2016-2018)
Parkinson’s Action Network Scholarship, Parkinson’s Action Network, Washington DC, USA (2012)
Heritage Post-doctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association, USA (2006-08)
