Under the supervision of Professor Alan Lehmann at University of Sussex (UK), I pursued my doctoral studies investigating the role of ubiquitinated PCNA in regulating post-replication repair mechanism in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Upon completion of DPhil in Biochemistry, I joined Professor Alison Sinclair’s group at the University of Sussex (UK), to investigate the functional interplay between the oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus & host DNA damage response pathway during viral replication. My main research objectives was to identify functional targets of a viral transcription factor, Zta using an integrated approach – genomic (ChIP-seq), transcriptomic (RNAseq) and proteomic analyses (SILAC labelling of proteins) and data obtained are now published in peer-reviewed journals.

My current research lies in adapting state-of-the art techniques in addressing key questions in ocular research with focus on

1. Delineating the role of neddylation, an ubiquitin-like post translational modification in retinal cell homeostasis and survival.
2. Identifying and functionally characterize novel anti-fibrotic agents to combat pathogenic fibrosis associated with Glaucoma and
3. Epigenetic traits and dynamics in glaucoma

Projects as Principal Investigator

Completed Grants – 2 [Funded by DST-SERB (ECRA) and ICMR)
Ongoing Projects – 3 [Funded by DST-SERB (POWER), ICMR and ICMR-DHR)
Ongoing Fellowship – 1

Google Scholar : Check out this link

1. Liu, W., Mohan, S.P., Nagaraj, N.R., Sundar Jaganathan, S., Wen, Y., Ramasubramanyan, S., Irudayaraj, J., 2021. Epigenetic alterations associated with dexamethasone sodium phosphate through DNMT and TET in RPE cells. Mol Vis 27, 643-655.


2. Badrinarayanan, L., Chitipothu, S., Ramasubramanyan, S., Sripriya, S., Rishi, P., Rishi, E., George, R., Lakshmi, B.S., Elchuri, S.V., 2020. Assessment of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with steroid-induced ocular hypertension. Int J Ophthalmol 13, 1294-1305.


3. Almohammed, R., Osborn, K., Ramasubramanyan, S., Perez-Fernandez, I.B.N., Godfrey, A., Mancini, E.J., Sinclair, A.J., 2018. Mechanism of activation of the BNLF2a immune evasion gene of Epstein-Barr virus by Zta. J Gen Virol 99, 805-817.


4. Godfrey, A., S. Ramasubramanyan, and A.J. Sinclair, The Use of Chromatin Precipitation Coupled to DNA Sequencing (ChIP-Seq) for the Analysis of Zta Binding to the Human and EBV Genome. Methods Mol Biol, 2017. 1532: p. 191-206.


5. Traylen, C., et al., Identification of Epstein-Barr Virus Replication Proteins in Burkitt's Lymphoma Cells. Pathogens, 2015. 4(4): p. 739-51.


6. Ramasubramanyan, S., et al., Epstein-Barr virus transcription factor Zta acts through distal regulatory elements to directly control cellular gene expression. Nucleic Acids Res, 2015. 43(7): p. 3563-77.


7. Ramasubramanyan, S., et al., Dynamic chromatin environment of key lytic cycle regulatory regions of the Epstein-Barr virus genome. J Virol, 2012. 86(3): p. 1809-19.


8. Ramasubramanyan, S., et al., Genome-wide analyses of Zta binding to the Epstein-Barr virus genome reveals interactions in both early and late lytic cycles and an epigenetic switch leading to an altered binding profile. J Virol, 2012. 86(23): p. 12494-502.


9. Flower, K., et al., Epigenetic control of viral life-cycle by a DNA-methylation dependent transcription factor. PLoS One, 2011. 6(10): p. e25922.


10. Ramasubramanyan, S., et al., Ubiquitin-PCNA fusion as a mimic for mono-ubiquitinated PCNA in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. DNA Repair (Amst), 2010. 9(7): p. 777-84.


11. Coulon, S., et al., Rad8Rad5/Mms2-Ubc13 ubiquitin ligase complex controls translesion synthesis in fission yeast. EMBO J, 2010. 29(12): p. 2048-58.


12. Gao, S., et al., Australin: a chromosomal passenger protein required specifically for Drosophila melanogaster male meiosis. J Cell Biol, 2008. 180(3): p. 521-35.

2014
Recipient of Young Achiever’s Award as alumni of S.D.N.B Vaishnav College forWomen, India

2009 - 2013
Recipient of four year post-doctoral fellowship by The Wellcome Trust and Medical Research council to pursue research at University of Sussex, UK

2006
Awarded the Tom Roberts Memorial Prize 2006 for the best postgraduate talk at University of Sussex, UK

2004 - 2008
Recipient of Marie Curie Research Training Network Studentship to complete DPhil inBiochemistry, University of Sussex, UK

2003-2004
Recipient of British Chevening Open Science Scholarship sponsored MSc in Biology(Integrative Biosciences) at University of Oxford, UK

2002
Received Shri K.R. Sundarajan Memorial Gold Medal for securing University First Rankin B.Sc Botany from University of Madras, India

Dr Sharada Ramasubramanyan, PhD
Principal Scientist & In-Charge, Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
R.S. Mehta Jain Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Vision Research Foundation,
41/18 College Road, Nungambakkam
Chennai – 600 006.
Ph: +91-(044) 28271616 Extn:1315
Email: drsharada@snmail.org