RESEARCH SCHOLARS

Athmika Nagaraj

Senior Research Fellow
  • Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • MSc (Area): Applied Zoology
  • athmikashetty23@gmail.com

Profile

 

 

Athmika Nagaraj after completing her post-graduation in Applied Zoology from Mangalore University took up teaching job and later joined Yenepoya Research Centre during August 2018 as a Junior Research Fellow in a DBT-funded project entitled ‘Development of a wound healing material from the biopolymers produced by two novel bacterial strains isolated from the West Coast of India’. She enrolled for the PhD program and has been working on development of an exopolysaccharide-based bioink for the healing of dermal wounds. She also researches on development of biopolymer-based formulation as bioinks for bioprinting. She has expertise in microbial production of biopolymers, cell culture based in vitro experiments and handling of animal models of different wound types.

Experience

  • Senior Research Fellow (2020 – till date)
  • Junior Research Fellow (2018 – 2020)
  • Lecturer (June 2017 – February 2018) – Department of Biology, Jnanasudha Pre-University College, Karkala
  • Assistant teacher (June 2016 – May 2017) Alva’s High school, Moodbidri

 

Awards/Honors

  • GATE (2020)
  • 2. K-SET (2015)

 

 

Research

 

Research interest/Area

Exopolysaccharides, bioink, wound healing

Research

Athmika’s research project aims at optimization of the bacterial growth conditions for maximizing the exopolysaccharide yield and characterization of the same. The bioactivities of the exopolysaccharides are studied for its wound healing potential in vitro and in vivo. Further, an effective therapeutic material is developed from the biopolymer.

Publications

  • Nagaraj A, Rekha PD. Development of a bioink using exopolysaccharide from Rhizobium PRIM17. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2023 Apr 15;234:123608.
  • Athmika, Ghate SD, Arun AB, Rao SS, Kumar SA, Kandiyil MK, Saptami K, Rekha PD. Genome analysis of a halophilic bacterium Halomonas malpeensis YU-PRIM-29T reveals its exopolysaccharide and pigment producing capabilities. Scientific Reports. 2021 Jan 18;11(1):1749.
  • Rekha PD, Shastry RP, Hameed A, Ghate SD, Arun AB, Athmika N. Genomic potential for exopolysaccharide production and differential polysaccharide degradation in closely related Alteromonas PRIM-21 and Alteromonas fortis 1T. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. 2023 Jan;116(1):39-51.
  • Dhanya BE, Athmika, Rekha PD. Characterization of an exopolysaccharide produced by Enterobacter YU16-RN5 and its potential to alleviate cadmium induced cytotoxicity in vitro. 3 Biotech. 2021 Dec;11:1-1.
  • Vipin C, Saptami K, Fida F, Mujeeburahiman M, Rao SS, Athmika, Arun AB, Rekha PD. Potential synergistic activity of quercetin with antibiotics against multidrug-resistant clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS One. 2020 Nov 6;15(11):e0241304.
  • Rekha PD, Hameed A, Manzoor MA, Suryavanshi MV, Ghate SD, Arun AB, Rao SS, Athmika, Bajire SK, Mujeeburahiman M, Young CC. First report of pathogenic bacterium Kalamiella piersonii isolated from urine of a kidney stone patient: draft genome and evidence for role in struvite crystallization. Pathogens. 2020 Aug 29;9(9):711.