Dr. Sonam Chawla

Biography

Dr. Sonam Chawla joined Department of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA in November 2019. Prior to her appointment here, she has served as Assistant Professor in Abdul Kalaam Technical University, UP and as Guest Lecturer in Lady Irwin College (DU), Delhi. Dr. Sonam completed her PhD from Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), DRDO, Delhi as CSIR research fellow (CSIR JRF NET 2009). She did her M.Tech in Biotechnology from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, MP in 2010 and B.Tech in Biotechnology from Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, UP in 2008. She is the recipient of Vice-Chancellor’s Medal in her graduation as well as post-graduation.

Research Interests

Oxygen is a participant in maximum number of biochemical reactions. Its’ biological levels are tightly regulated – hypoxia and hyperoxia both have pathological consequences. During my doctoral studies I worked with rodent models of hypobaric hypoxia (hypoxia experienced at high altitudes due to fall in atmospheric pressure), and investigated several interventions facilitating hypoxia adaptive signaling. Notable work was carried out establishing the therapeutic potential of pleiotropic lipid sphingosine-1-phosphate in hypoxia adaptation. Expanding on my expertise in hypoxia biology, I intend to investigate the oxygen homeostasis in mammalian systems and its influence on the ageing process. I am also keen on developing suitable biological models to simulate ageing and investigate herbals/phytomolecules for regulation of oxygen homeostasis. The globally expanding base of elderly population is also susceptible to infectious diseases due to the prevalent inflammaging and other co-morbidities. I am thus, also keen on investigating novel and safer anti-microbials.

Publications

BOOKS

S Chawla, S Singh, A Husen (Eds). Smart Nanomaterials Targeting Pathological Hypoxia, Springer Singapore, Published: 30 June 2023, ISBN(Hardcover):978-981-99-1717-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1718-1

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Chawla S, Gupta A, Bhardwaj M, Singh S, Husen A. Smart Nanotechnology in Pathological Hypoxia: An Innovative Avenue for a Clinical Hurdle. In: Chawla, S., Singh, S., Husen, A. (eds) Smart Nanomaterials Targeting Pathological Hypoxia. Smart Nanomaterials Technology. Springer, Singapore, 2023, Pages 1-10, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1718-1_1
• Khare N, Bhardwaj M, Chawla S, Praveen R, Singh S. Redox Responsive Smart Nanomaterials to Tackle Hypoxia Associated Oxidative Damage and Inflammatory Mediators Using Phytocompounds. In: Chawla, S., Singh, S., Husen, A. (eds) Smart Nanomaterials Targeting Pathological Hypoxia. Smart Nanomaterials Technology. Springer, Singapore, 2023, Pages 315-325. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1718-1_16
• N Singh, S Gaur, S Chawla, S Singh, A Husen, Chapter 11 - Use of smart nanomaterials in food packaging, Editor(s): Azamal Husen, Khwaja Salahuddin Siddiqi, In Micro and Nano Technologies, Advances in Smart Nanomaterials and their Applications, Elsevier, 2023, Pages 233-245, ISBN 9780323995467, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-99546-7.00008-2.
• M Arora, K Pandey, S Chawla. Recent Perspectives on the Medicinal Potential of Plant Based Adaptogens, Chapter 15, Phyto Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology of Herbal Plants, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2022 (Index released online: https://www.routledge.com/Phytopharmaceuticals-and-Biotechnology-of-Herbal-Plants/Singh-Datta-Johri-Trivedi/p/book/9781032277769)
• I Pandey, S Vashishtha, S Chawla. Recent investigations on protective mechanisms of flavonoids against sarcopenia. Chapter 7, Phyto Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology of Herbal Plants, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2022. (Index released online: https://www.routledge.com/Phytopharmaceuticals-and-Biotechnology-of-Herbal-Plants/Singh-Datta-Johri-Trivedi/p/book/9781032277769)
• Chawla S, Saxena SK. Preparing for the Perpetual Challenges of Pandemics of Coronavirus Infections with Special Focus on SARS-CoV-2. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). 2020 Apr 30:165–86. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-4814-7_14.

RESEARCH/REVIEW ARTICLES

• Kaur G, Chawla S, Kumar P, Singh R. Advancing Vaccine Strategies against Candida Infections: Exploring New Frontiers. Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Oct 29;11(11):1658. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11111658.
• Singh S, Gupta R, Chawla S, Gauba P, Singh M, Tiwari RK, Upadhyay S, Sharma S, Chanda S, Gaur S. Natural sources and encapsulating materials for probiotics delivery systems: Recent applications and challenges in functional food development. Front Nutr. 2022 Sep 21;9:971784. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.971784.
• Kaur B, Kumar N, Chawla S, Sharma D, Korpole S, Sharma R, Patel MK, Chopra K, Chaurasia OP, Saxena S. A comparative study of in-vitro and in-silico anti-candidal activity and GC-MS profiles of snow mountain garlic vs. normal garlic. J Appl Microbiol. 2022 Sep;133(3):1308-1321. doi: 10.1111/jam.15537.
• Chawla S, Rahar B, Tulswani R, Saxena S. Preventive preclinical efficacy of intravenously administered sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in strengthening hypoxia adaptive responses to acute and sub-chronic hypobaric hypoxia. Eur J Pharmacol. 2020 Mar 5;870:172877.
• Rahar B, Chawla S, Tulswani R, Saxena S. Acute Hypobaric HypoxiaMediated Biochemical/Metabolic Shuffling and Differential Modulation of S1PR-SphK in Cardiac and Skeletal Muscles. High Alt Med Biol. 2019 Mar;20(1):78-88.
• Rahar B, Chawla S, Pandey S, Bhatt AN, Saxena S. Sphingosine-1-phosphate pretreatment amends hypoxia-induced metabolic dysfunction and impairment of myogenic potential in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts by stimulating viability, calcium homeostasis and energy generation. J Physiol Sci. 2018 Mar;68(2):137-151.
• Chawla S, Rahar B, Saxena S. S1P prophylaxis mitigates acute hypobaric hypoxia-induced molecular, biochemical, and metabolic disturbances: A preclinical report. IUBMB Life.2016;68(5):365-75.
• Chawla S, Saxena S. Differential modulation of S1PR(1-5) and specific activities of SphK and nSMase in pulmonary and cerebral tissues of rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia. Lipids.2015;50(1):39-48.
• Chawla S, Saxena S. Physiology of High-Altitude Acclimatization. Resonance 2014;19(6):538-548.
• Saxena S, Chawla S, Nimekar C, Singh K: Benefits of oral supplementation of red palm oil under hypobaric hypoxia in rats: an observational study. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Phytopharmacological Research. 2014; 3(4):327-331.
• Chawla S, Rahar B, Singh M, Bansal A, Saraswat D, Saxena S. Exogenous sphingosine-1-phosphate boosts acclimatization in rats exposed to acute hypobaric hypoxia: assessment of haematological and metabolic effects. PLoS One. 2014 ;9(6):e98025.
• Chawla S, Sahni C, Tulsawani R, Singh M, Saraswat D, Bansal A, Saxena S. Exogenous sphingosine 1-phosphate protects murine splenocytes against hypoxia-induced injury. Lipids.2014;49(2):191-202.
• Chawla S, Saxena S. Red Palm Oil – Health Benefits and their molecular executors. Internatinonal Journal of Bioassays 2013; 2(9):1223-1231.
• Chawla S, Gupta D, Tiwari A.Type 2 diabetes in the wake of Insulin Resistance: Molecular etiology and therapeutics. Journal of Pharmacy Research. 2011; 4:118.

Conferences/Symposiums Attended

• 2nd Prize in “Best Poster Award” at ICABB 2024 in Technical Session on Medical Biotechnology. R, Maithani, S Chawla. Therapeutic Potential of HIF (Hypoxia Inducible Factor) Pathway in Human Diseases. 31 Jan-2 Feburary 2024.
• Oral Presentation at ICABB 2023. Gupta A, Chawla S. A review on the effects of Medicinal spices on age related molecular and cellular pathways in light of geriatric muscle loss. 18-20 January 2023.
• Awarded “Best Poster Award”. Kohli A, Chawla S. The role of TP53 Gene in Carcinogenic Effects of GMOs. Abstract Book of 6th International Conference on “Strategies and Challenges in Agriculture and Life Science for Food Security and Sustainable Environment” April 28-30, 2023
• Awarded 2nd Prize at ICABB 2023 in Poster Presentation. Sharma R, Chawla S. Molecular Pharming as a novel therapeutic production strategy and its regulatory aspects. 18-20 January 2023.
• Attended 5-day online FDP on the theme “Inculcating Universal Human Values in Technical Education” organised by AICTE, New Delhi. 22nd August to 26th August, 2022.
• Attended 5 days Hands on Workshop on “Next Generation Sequencing Data Analysis” at JUIT, Waknaghat, Himanchal Pradesh. 20-24 March 2023.
• Attended “International Conference on Advances in Biosciences and Biotechnology, “Theme: Innovations in Life Sciences and Computational Biology”, ICABB-2022, organised by Dept of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA, 20-22nd January 2022
• Attended “International Conference on Advances in Biosciences and Biotechnology, “Theme: Innovations in Life Sciences and Computational Biology”, ICABB-2022, organised by Dept of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA, 12-14 August, 2021, 20-22nd January 2022
• Attended “Virtual Workshop and Hands-on Training on “Bioinformatics approach for Data Analysis and Research”organised by Dept of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA, 12-14 August, 2021
• Attended Faculty Development Programme on Food and Agriculture Biotechnology, organised by Dept of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA,2nd-7th August 2021,
• Attended Online hands-on workshop on "Bioinformatics tools in research" organised by Dept of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA, 17^th – 19^th September 2020.
• The First Online India-UK Bilateral SPARC symposium on “Transcriptional Dynamics in Developmental Biology” organised by SciWhyLab, School of Computational & Integrative Sciences (SC&IS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. 10-11 August 2020.
• Attended Online Faculty Development Program on “Research Advances in Plant & Microbial Biotechnology ” organized by Department of Biotechnology , JIIT, NOIDA 13^th – 18^th  July 2020.
• Attended Online Workshop on “Microbial Genomics” organised by Pathfinder Training and Research Foundation, NOIDA. 1^st – 5^th June 2020
• International Conference on Advances in Biosciences and Biotechnology (ICABB 2020)” on OMICS in Human Health and Disease, organised by JIIT, NOIDA. 30^th January -1^stFeburary 2020.
• Chawla S, Rahar B, Saxena S. Systemic administration of S1P improves adaptive responses in rats exposed to acute duration of hypobaric hypoxia. [POSTER, 7th RBF Symposium- Advances in New Drug Discovery and Development, Zydus Research Centre. 2015, Ahmedabad]
• Rahar B, Chawla S, Saxena S. Novel role of exogenous Sphingosine 1-Phosphate in
• repair and regeneration of hypoxia induced skeletal muscle damage: an exploratory study in hypoxia exposed C2C12 cells. [POSTER, 7th RBF Symposium- Advances in New Drug Discovery and Development, Zydus Research Centre. 2015, Ahmedabad]
• Chawla S, Sahni C, Saxena S. Sphingosine-1-phospahte supplementation ameliorates hypoxia induced inflammation and oxidative stress: an in vitro study [POSTER, SFRR, 2013, Lucknow]
• Chawla S, Saxena S. Sphingosine-1-Phosphate action against hypoxic insult: an in vitro exploration [POSTER, Global Hypoxia Summit & 4th International Conference on Chronic Hypoxia, 2012, New Delhi]
• Chawla S, Joshi P, Tiwari A. Ayurveda to rescue from Diabesity : An Epidemic of Global Concern. [POSTER, Cellular and Molecular Medicine 2010, Bhopal]
• National symposium on importance of biotechnology in crop development and food security, SVBPUAT, Meerut [2008]

GUEST LECTURES DELIVERED

• Talk delivered on “Bridging Science, Pharma and Wellness for an Ageless Tomorrow” in online Webinar on 23rd September 2023. Organised by Microbioz India (leading publication of Laboratory Healthcare & Medical Technology, https://microbiozindia.com/about-microbioz-india/).
• Talk delivered on “Recombinant DNA Technology” at Bhilai Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Bhilai on 1-day Webinar organized by Microbiological Society of India, India (Chattisgarh Unit) on 30th June 2022.
• Talk delivered on “Anti-Ageing Realm: Tapping the molecular mechanisms for development of nutraceuticals” at Lady Irwin College, Delhi University (NAAC Accredited A+ College) on 28th July 2020, under the aegis of DBT STAR COLLEGE SCHEME.
• Talk delivered on “Antiviral drugs and Vaccines: Workings and Utilization in the Era of Rising Infectious Diseases” at the International Webinar on “Evolving Viruses and Human Interventions”, organised by JNSG PG College, Shujalpur, Madhya Pradesh (Sponsored by Dept of Higher Education, Govt of MP) on 23rd August 2020.