SANJAY BATRA

Dedicated and experienced researcher with a stellar academic background, including recognition of merit through undergraduate and graduate school. Recipient of Regional Service Award (Asia-Pacific), Bursary Award, and Young Investigator Award for contributions in the field of Clinical Biochemistry, Immunology, and Lung Biology. Background includes continuing work in the field of innate immunity, immuno-toxicology, molecular biology, microbiology, bacteriology, and epigenetics using human and murine cell systems and animal models. My current focus is to delineate the molecular mechanisms associated with innate immunity/inflammatory responses following exposure to cigarette smoke extract (CSE)/secondhand smoke (SHS), electronic-cigarette (e-cigs) condensate, diesel particulate extract and pentachlorophenol exposure. Formation of protein-protein complexes, subcellular localization, and post-translational modification of proteins and transcription factors have always intrigued me to probe more and my expertise in pulmonary innate immunity and inflammation have uniquely poised me to make headway in this direction. My research group is currently focusing to determine the role of lipid rafts and epigenetic signatures in regulating the expression and/or function of membrane and cytosolic receptors, immune-related proteins, and transcription factors during exposure to above mentioned environmental pollutants. We also focus on immunoproteasomes and autophagic mechanisms which play a critical role in maintaining cellular homeostasis in stress/infection-related models. As an intervention strategy, we are using flavonoids and ellagitannins to target transcription factors and epigenetic signatures which play an important role in our study models. Regulating the membrane lipid raft assembly by chemical disruption or enriching the membranes with poly-unsaturated fatty acids is also being used as a tool to modulate inflammatory responses in our study models. These approaches have the potential to be translated to a broad spectrum of diseases caused or complicated by bacterial infections, environmental toxins, or nutritional habits.

1988 – 1990 Junior Research Fellowship, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.

1990 – 1993  Senior Research Fellowship, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India.

1998 Regional Service Award for contribution in the field of Clinical Biochemistry during 1997-1998, 8th 

          Asian Pacific Congress of Clinical Biochemistry, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1999 Bursary Award (Contributions in Clinical Biochemistry)-17th IFCC-World Lab, Firenze, Italy.

2000 Silver Medal at 37th National Conference of Pediatrics, Hyderabad, India.

2007  Oral Presentation Winner at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

2012 Young Investigator Award and Highlighted presentation at IDeA Meeting, Washington DC.

2013 Highlighted Speaker at IDeA Meeting, Little Rock, AR.

2014 Member-Grant Review Panel-AIBS (FAMRI), Washington DC.

2014 Invited Speaker at Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL.

2014 Invited Speaker at ‘The 2014 Innate Immunity Summit’ London, UK.

2014-Contd Level II Graduate Faculty Member, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

2015 Rising Star of Southern University System for achievements during 2014-2015.

2015 Member-Grant Review Panel-AIBS (FAMRI)

2015 Member-Grant Review Panel-LBCRP.

2015 Member-Grant Review Panel - Welsh Government’s Sêr Cymru II Programme

2016-2017 Member-Deans Advisory Committee/Council

2016 Member-Grant Review Panel-AIBS (FAMRI)

2017 MemberGrant Review Panel-AIBS (FAMRI)

2017-Contd Member-Assessment Committee/College

2017-Contd Member-Accreditation Committee/University

2017-2018  Chair-Curriculum Graduate Committee-College

2018 Guest Lecture at Department of Pediatrics, Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, Bangla Sahib Marg, New    

          Delhi, India.

2018 MemberGrant Review Panel-AIBS (FAMRI)

2018 Member-Grant Review Panel-French National Cancer Institute

2018 Member-Grant Review Panel-National Institutes of Health

2019 Member-Grant Review Panel-Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN)

2019 Panelist-Panel Discussion for R15 Grant Writing - LBRN Annual Meeting

2019 Guest Lecture at Grambling State University, Grambling, USA

2019 Chair-IRB Recombinant DNA Committee, SUBR

2019 Outstanding Researcher of the Year, Southern University System

2019 Grant Reviewer-American University of Beirut

2019 Grant Reviewer-UK Research and Innovation (Future Leaders Fellowships)

2019  Grant Reviewer-National Science Foundation

2020 Grant Reviewer-Neurological Foundation, NewZealand

2020 Grant Reviewer-British Lung Foundation, UK

2020 BASF Endowed Professorship Award

2020  Invited Speaker-International Webinar on Grant Writing

2021 Grant Reviewer-Dutch Research Council (Health Research and Development)

2021 Member-Grant Review Panel-National Institutes of Health

2021-2022 Grant Reviewer-Neurological Foundation, NewZealand

2022 Grant Reviewer-Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute

2022-2023 Member-Graduate Council, SUBR

2022-2023 Member-Committee on Graduate Faculty Affairs, Research, Grants, & PD, SUBR

2023 Member-Graduate School Research Symposium, SUBR

2023 Member-Grant Review Panel-National Institutes of Health

2023 Member-U.S. Department of Education Borrower Defense Committee

2023  Member- Graduate School Grievance Committee

2023 Outstanding Researcher Award, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge.