CV

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Postdoctoral fellow (2016-Present)

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University

Advisor: Dr. Peter Sarnow

Project: “Dengue RNA-protein interactions that modulate infection in mosquito and human hosts”

- Developed high throughput RNA-centric and proteomics-based methods to identify host factors essential for flavivirus infection in human and mosquito cell culture systems.

- Engineering novel antiviral interventions to block vector mediated viral transmission and replication.

Ph.D. (2010-2015)

Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science

Advisor: Dr. Saumitra Das

Thesis: “Host-pathogen interactions in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection: Deciphering the role of host proteins and microRNAs”

- Characterized the role of novel host proteins and miRNAs as potential drug targets in mitigating HCV infection using cell culture model systems.

- Identified circulating biomarkers in HCV infected patient serum samples that affect viral pathogenesis and disease outcomes through RNA transcriptomics.

Master of Science, Biotechnology (2008-2010)

Maharaja Sayajirao University, India

Dissertation: “Role of a non-coding RNA in the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa”

Advisor: Dr. Mrinalini Nair

Bachelor of Science, Biotechnology (2005-2008)

Manipal Life Sciences Center, India

Dissertation: “Role of Metals in Interferon-γ Mediated functional responses”

Advisor: Dr. Dipankar Nandi

PUBLICATIONS

Shwetha S*, Weng KF, Ooi YS, Belk J, Carette JC, Flynn RA, Sarnow P*. Loquacious Modulates Flaviviral RNA Replication in Mosquito Cells. PLOS Pathogens (2022) *Corresponding author

Shwetha S, Sarnow P. Cross-species microRNA transmission modulates flavivirus growth in mosquitoes. Trends in Parasitology(2022)

Pradhan A, Shwetha S, Dey S, Goel A, Aggarwal R, Das S. Exosome associated microRNA-375 induces cell proliferation by regulating IGFBP4 upon Hepatitis C Virus infection. Molecular Microbiology (2022)

Shwetha S, Sarnow P. The tale of two flaviviruses: subversion of host pathways by RNA shapes in dengue and hepatitis C viral RNA genomes. Current Opinion in Microbiology (2021)

Shwetha S*, Sharma G*, Raheja H, Goel A, Aggarwal R, Das S. Interaction of miR-125b-5p with Human antigen R mRNA: mechanism of controlling HCV replication. Virus Research (2018). *Co-first authors

Mukherjee K, Ghoshal B, Ghosh S, Chakrabarty Y, Shwetha S, Das S, Bhattacharyya SN. Reversible HuR-microRNA binding controls extracellular export of miR-122 and augments stress response. EMBO Reports (2016).

Shwetha S, Kumar A, Mullick R, Vasudevan D, Mukherjee N, Das S. HuR displaces PTB to facilitate La binding to the 3’UTR and enhances HCV replication. Journal of Virology (2015).

Bhat P, Shwetha S, Sharma DK, Joseph AP, Srinivasan N, Das S. The beta hairpin structure within ribosomal protein S5 mediates interplay between domains II and IV and regulates HCV IRES function. Nucleic Acids Research (2015).

Gouthamchandra K, Kumar A, Shwetha S, Mukherjee A, Chandra M, Ravishankar B, Khaja MN, Sadhukhan PC, Das S. Serum proteomics of hepatitis C virus infection reveals retinol-binding protein 4 as a novel regulator. Journal of General Virology (2014).

Shwetha S, Gouthamchandra K, Chandra M, Ravishankar B, Khaja MN, Das S. Circulating miRNA profile in HCV infected serum: novel insight into pathogenesis. Scientific Reports (2013).

MANUSCIPTS IN PREPARATION:

Shwetha S*, Xiao W, Carette JC, Sarnow P*. The RNA-binding protein PACT is required for Dengue virus infection of the human host. *Corresponding author

Shwetha S*, Flynn RA, Shah P, Sarnow P*. ChIRP-MS discovery of mosquito proteins interacting with Dengue viral RNA. *Corresponding author