Brief CV

Prof. Manni Luthra-Guptasarma has a Bachelors’ degree in Chemistry from Delhi University, a Masters’ degree in Biotechnology from IIT Bombay, a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from CCMB, Hyderabad, and postdoctoral experience in Protein Structural Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK, as a BBSRC Fellow. She has held faculty positions at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and at PGIMER, Chandigarh, where she has been a full Professor since 2013 at the Department of Immunopathology, conducting and supervising research into molecular mechanisms underlying diseases in the areas of Immunology and Ophthalmology.

Manni brings to her work perspectives and tools derived from several different areas of modern biology, including cellular and molecular biology, protein science and engineering, biomolecular spectroscopy, biochemistry, biophysics, genomics and proteomics. Her areas of research include diseases owing to misfolding and/or aggregation of proteins, and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. She also works on the origins of stemness, dedifferentiation and re-differentiation of cells.

Her current research provides insights into mechanisms and pathways in immunopathological diseases such as Ankylosing Spondylitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis, and various ocular diseases involving fibrosis in the cornea, lens and retina. Manni also uses her background in protein chemistry, protein engineering and phage display technology to create novel enzymological and immunological protein reagents, and explore their potential as interventional agents to ameliorate the pathological states of cells and tissues.