Ravisankar RAJARETHINAM

Dr. Ravi as a Principal Scientist at AMPL, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, specialises in laboratory animal pathology, toxicology, and lab management. He provides expert scientific consultation and assessments for animal studies in basic and translational research. His significant contributions in cancer research include WNTinib targeting KIT/MAPK pathways in HCC, CAR T-cell therapies for B7-H3 and PD-1/PD-L1 in solid tumours, PRDM15 in B-cell lymphomagenesis, and the NELF-E-SLUG-KAT2B epigenetic axis in breast cancer. In infectious disease research, he has supported the proof-of-concept studies on SARS-CoV-2, Klebsiella, Zika, and Chikungunya virus- focusing on vaccines and therapeutics.

As a board-certified toxicologist, he involves both in-vitro and in-vivo toxicology for different projects. This includes validating and testing the invitro toxicity profiles of chemicals through skin corrosion and sensitisation assays and evaluating the tissue changes in non-clinical tox studies.

In the initial stages of his career in the pharmaceutical industries in India, Dr. Ravi made notable contributions to respiratory inflammation research. While at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, he conducted investigations into the emetic potential of PDE4 inhibitors in ferrets which played a crucial role in advancing clinical development. Later at Ranbaxy Laboratories, he was deeply involved in new drug discovery and development. He played a key role in GSK-sponsored projects, focusing on the preclinical evaluation of therapies for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As head of the Pathology department for safety assessment at Syngene International Ltd., he demonstrated expertise in managing regulatory-compliant nonclinical studies, collaborating seamlessly with discovery and development teams, and efficiently overseeing international research projects.

Dr. Ravi completed his degree in Veterinary Medicine at Madras Veterinary College, India. After being awarded a highly competitive national-level scholarship from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), he pursued advanced studies in Veterinary Pathology at renowned institutions in India. To further enhance his expertise, he received specialised training in Descriptive Veterinary Pathology at the University of Queensland, Australia, and the University of Minnesota, USA. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (DABT), having successfully maintained his certification through two consecutive recertifications, which reflects his ongoing engagement in the field. Additionally, he has completed in-vitro toxicology training at IIVS, Inc., USA.