Professor Alo Nag
Dr. Alo Nag is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry. She has served as the Head of the Department of Biochemistry (2019-2023) and as Dean of the Faculty of Interdisciplinary and Applied Sciences (2020-2021). During 2019-2021, she was also Head of the Department of Biophysics and played a pivotal role in launching the M.Sc. Biophysics program amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, she served as Provost of Geetanjali PG Women’s Hostel at South Campus from January 2020 to November 2022.
Prof. Nag completed her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees at the Department of Biochemistry, UDSC. She pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, focusing on cell cycle regulation and cancer biology. Subsequently, she was appointed as an Instructor in a leading Cancer Research group at Northwestern University, USA. In 2007, she returned to India and joined Department of Biochemistry, UDSC as Reader, where she established a molecular oncology lab.
Lab Research:
Her lab research focuses on unravelling the key molecular events responsible for transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells with the goal of identifying potential drug targets. A major part of her work is dedicated to investigating the oncogenic mechanisms of HPV that causes cervical cancer, the top most cancer killer among Indian women. Significant findings from her lab includes identification of mechanism of high risk HPVE6-mediated proteolysis of hADA3, delineation of E6-hADA3 oncogenic interface and structure based rational design of inhibitory peptides disrupting E6-hADA3 interaction, establishing a novel connection between SUMOylation of FoxM1b and HPV carcinogenesis and discovery of unique nexus between E7 and APC/C-Cdh1 complex. These studies are expected to identify new druggable targets that can facilitate the development of promising modalities for effective treatment against HPV-related cancers. Currently, the lab is also working on a prominent cancer therapy target, FoxM1, overexpressed in most cancers with implications in metastasis, drug resistance and poor prognosis. The team is actively investigating the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying FoxM1-driven oncogenesis and designing novel inhibitors targeting FoxM1 as anti-cancer molecules.
Additionally, her group is conducting research on the post-translational machinery of malarial parasites. Her lab also worked on various combination of anti-malarials in murine model of malaria which yielded several high impact research articles and a patent on novel anti-malarial formulation.
Prof. Nag has received several extramural grants and published around 50 research articles in reputed peer reviewed journals, authored a book chapter and holds a patent. She has organised many national and international conferences and has been recognised with multiple honours and awards. With more than 17 years of teaching experience, she has supervised numerous Ph.D. and M.Sc. students. Prof. Nag is also an active peer reviewer of national and international grants and manuscripts. She has delivered numerous invited talks in India and abroad, currently serving in the editorial board of journals and is a life member of various scientific societies.
Faculty detail: Link
Google scholar citations : https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=GwBUOV8AAAAJ&hl=en
