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Saguna Verma Ph.D.
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii
Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
"Infectious and Immunological Diseases"
Title: Associate Professor
Rank:
Address:
John A. Burns School of Medicine 651 Ilalo Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Telephone:
Narrative
Short biography
As a biochemist and molecular biologist by training, Dr. Verma obtained a Ph.D in Life Sciences from
India (University of Indore). During her post doctoral training as a Project Scientist at the National
Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India worldwide known for applied and translational
immunology research, she trained herself as an immunologist. She is currently working as an
Associate Professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and
Pharmacology at the Medical School of the University of Hawaii.
Research interests
Dr. Verma's research interest is to study various host cell-signaling pathways associated with
infection with viral pathogens to ultimately design therapeutic interventions and/or adjunct
therapies to improve disease pathology. Focus of her ongoing projects is to understand
immunological events contributing to the pathogenesis of flaviviruses (dengue and West Nile virus),
such as virus-CNS entry, induction of inflammation and neuronal death. Using in vitro and in vivo
mouse models and human primary immune cells, her group has recently started characterizing novel
innate immune responses to virus pathogens and vaccine candidates such as Ebola virus
glycoprotein.
Publications
1.
Nelson J, Roe K, Orillo B, Shi PY, Verma S. Combined treatment of adenosine PubMed
nucleoside inhibitor NITD008 and histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat represents
an immunotherapy strategy to ameliorate West Nile virus infection. Antiviral Res.
2015 Oct; 122:39-45.
2.
Roe K, Gibot S, Verma S. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1): PubMed
a new player in antiviral immunity? Front Microbiol. 2014; 5:627.
3.
Roe K, Orillo B, Verma S. West nile virus-induced cell adhesion molecules on human PubMed
brain microvascular endothelial cells regulate leukocyte adhesion and modulate
permeability of the in vitro blood-brain barrier model. PLoS One. 2014;
9(7):e102598.
4.
Kumar M, Roe K, Nerurkar PV, Orillo B, Thompson KS, Verma S, Nerurkar VR. PubMed
Reduced immune cell infiltration and increased pro-inflammatory mediators in the
brain of Type 2 diabetic mouse model infected with West Nile virus. J
Neuroinflammation. 2014; 11(1):80.
5.
Kumar M, Roe K, Orillo B, Muruve DA, Nerurkar VR, Gale M, Verma S. PubMed
Inflammasome adaptor protein Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing
CARD (ASC) is critical for the immune response and survival in west Nile virus
encephalitis. J Virol. 2013 Apr; 87(7):3655-67.
6.
Kumar M, Roe K, Nerurkar PV, Namekar M, Orillo B, Verma S, Nerurkar VR. Impaired PubMed
virus clearance, compromised immune response and increased mortality in type 2
diabetic mice infected with West Nile virus. PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e44682.
7.
Roe K, Kumar M, Lum S, Orillo B, Nerurkar VR, Verma S. West Nile virus-induced PubMed
disruption of the blood-brain barrier in mice is characterized by the degradation of
the junctional complex proteins and increase in multiple matrix metalloproteinases.
J Gen Virol. 2012 Jun; 93(Pt 6):1193-203.
8.
Verma S, Hoffmann FW, Kumar M, Huang Z, Roe K, Nguyen-Wu E, Hashimoto AS, PubMed
Hoffmann PR. Selenoprotein K knockout mice exhibit deficient calcium flux in
immune cells and impaired immune responses. J Immunol. 2011 Feb 15;
186(4):2127-37.
9.
Verma S, Kumar M, Nerurkar VR. Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor blocks the production PubMed
of West Nile virus-induced neuroinflammatory markers in astrocytes. J Gen Virol.
2011 Mar; 92(Pt 3):507-15.
10. Kumar M, Verma S, Nerurkar VR. Pro-inflammatory cytokines derived from West PubMed
Nile virus (WNV)-infected SK-N-SH cells mediate neuroinflammatory markers and
neuronal death. J Neuroinflammation. 2010; 7:73.
11. Verma S, Kumar M, Gurjav U, Lum S, Nerurkar VR. Reversal of West Nile virus- PubMed
induced blood-brain barrier disruption and tight junction proteins degradation by
matrix metalloproteinases inhibitor. Virology. 2010 Feb 5; 397(1):130-8.
12. Verma S, Lo Y, Chapagain M, Lum S, Kumar M, Gurjav U, Luo H, Nakatsuka A, PubMed
Nerurkar VR. West Nile virus infection modulates human brain microvascular
endothelial cells tight junction proteins and cell adhesion molecules: Transmigration
across the in vitro blood-brain barrier. Virology. 2009 Mar 15; 385(2):425-33.
13. Verma S, Molina Y, Lo YY, Cropp B, Nakano C, Yanagihara R, Nerurkar VR. In vitro PubMed
effects of selenium deficiency on West Nile virus replication and cytopathogenicity.
Virol J. 2008; 5:66.
14. Verma S, Ziegler K, Ananthula P, Co JK, Frisque RJ, Yanagihara R, Nerurkar VR. JC PubMed
virus induces altered patterns of cellular gene expression: interferon-inducible genes
as major transcriptional targets. Virology. 2006 Feb 20; 345(2):457-67.
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