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sunil kumar rai assistant professor of cell and molecular biology

Sunil Rai

Assistant Professor
Qualifications: PhD
School/Division: GMP
Courses: Pre-Med

Dr. Sunil Kumar Rai is a dedicated Assistant Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology at the Medical University of the Americas, situated in Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies. During his educational career, Dr. Rai has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (2017-2018) and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (2018-2019). He earned his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the renowned Banaras Hindu University in India (2012-2017).

Dr. Rai’s commitment to teaching is evident through his role as an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of the Americas since April 2019. His expertise spans diverse subjects, including Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, and Genetics. Dr. Rai actively engages in academic administration, serving on committees such as the Research Day Committee and the RLRA committee, reflecting his dedication to shaping and advancing the academic environment.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Rai has been involved in various research projects and has published in prestigious journals and presented at conferences to contribute to scientific literature. His academic and research journey showcases his passion for education and his commitment to advancing scientific knowledge.

Qualifications

  • PhD (Biotechnology), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA

  • Cell and molecular biology
  • Genetics and molecular techniques

  • Awarded for oral presentation in National Scientific Symposium and Workshop on Recent Trends by Department of Anatomy, 2014 Cytogenetics RTCG-2014 organized Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India, 2014.
  • Awarded for poster presentation at the 4th Annual Conference of Research Section IAPS, organized by the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India, 2013.
  • Received a fellowship to do research work at the University of Exeter (UK) Medical School on the Project Applying Genomic Technologies to Clinical Problems in India (ACGT-INDIA) (June to August 2015) under the supervision of Professor Andrew Crosby.
  • Best paper award at World Conference on Clinical Nutrition 2015 (WCCN-2015) organized by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India, 2015.

Research Articles

  • Rai SK, Larissa Leydier, Shivani Sharma, Jigar Katwala, Anurag Sahu. A Quest for Genetic Cause Underlying Signaling Pathways Associated with the Neural Tube Defects. Frontiers in Pediatrics-Genetics of Common and Rare Diseases. 2023 May 22; 11:1126209.
  • Arshad, M.W., Shabbir, M.I. Asif, S. Shahzad, M. Leydier, L. Rai, SK. FRMD7 Gene Alterations in a Pakistani Family Associated with Congenital Idiopathic Nystagmus. Genes 2023, 14, 346.
  • Prajjval Pratap Singh, Rai SK, Gyaneshwer Chaubey, The estimation of real COVID-19 cases in India during the first wave, IJID Regions, 2023, 6:80-83.
  • Kumar S, Reynolds K, Ji Y, Gu R, Rai SK, Zhou CJ. Impaired neurodevelopmental pathways in autism spectrum disorder: a review of signaling mechanisms and crosstalk. J Neurodev Disord. 2019;11(1):10.
  • Pandey RS, Singh S, Tiwari R, Ghosh S, Rai SK, Shree P. Homology Modelling and Molecular Docking Study of Organophosphates and Pyrithroids in terms of Potential Toxicity. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2017. 9:09-11.
  • Pandey S, Singh K, Pandey D, Chand G, Sharma V, Jha RP, Singh R, Rai SK, Gupta R. Cleaved Tau Protein” – A Novel Biomarker Candidate in Mild Neurotrauma In Emergency Settings. Indian Journal of Neurotrauma. 2017. 14: 26-34. 4. Singh K, Rai SK, Kumari P, Prasad R, Shamal RS, Singh R. Folate deficiency is not the only Cause of Neural Tube Defects: A Preliminary Study. Indian Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine. 2017. 47:192-197.
  • Singh K, Rai SK, Sharma V, Tyagi V, Bhaikhel KK, Khalsa AS. Pattern and Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Status Update. Indian Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine. 2017. 48:15-20.
  • Pandey S, Singh K, Sharma V, Pandey D, Jha RP, Rai SK, Chauhan RS. A prospective pilot study on serum cleaved tau protein as a neurological marker in severe traumatic brain injury. British Journal of Neurosurgery. 2017. 31:1-8. PMID: 28293977.
  • Zollo, M., Ahmed, M., Ferrucci, V., Salpietro, V., Asadzadeh, F., Carotenuto, M., Maroofian, R., Al-Amri, A., Singh, R., Scognamiglio, I. and Mojarrad, M., ……. Rai SK, 2017. PRUNE is crucial for normal brain development and mutated in microcephaly with neurodevelopmental impairment. Brain, 140(4), 940-952.
  • Gupta R, Kumari P, Pandey S, Joshi D, Sharma SP, Rai SK, Singh R. Homocysteine and Vitamin B 12: other causes of Neural tube defect in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Western Bihar population. Neurology India. 2018. 66:1016-1019.
  • Rai SK, Singh R, Pandey S, Prasad R, Rai S, Singh K, Shamal SN. High incidence of neural tube defects in Northern part of India. Asian Journal of Neurosurgery. 2016.11:352-355.
  • Bhardwaj R, Rai SK, Yadav AK, Lakhotia S, Agarwal D, Kumar A, Mohapatra B. Epidemiology of congenital heart disease in India. Congenital Heart Disease. 2015:10(5) 437-446.

Book Chapters 

  • Ghosh S*, Rai SK*, Haldar C, and Ravi S. Pandey. Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of Toxicity of Melatonin-Loaded Poly (D, L-Lactic Acid) Nanoparticles (Mel-PLA-Nanoparticles) and Its Putative Use in Osteoporosis. Innovations in Food Technology-Current Perspective and Future Goals. (Springer publishing group. In press) (* Joint first authorship).
  • Singh K, Rai SK, Kumar A. Parkinson Disease: Symptoms, Molecular and Cellular Study, Current Research and Cure. Biomedical Technology: From health to wealth & future challenges. ISBN 978-93-86608-42-0. 2017. 62-74.
  • Rai SK, Ghosh S, Singh K, Pandey RS, Singh R. Alzheimer’s Disease: Mechanism and Nutritional Management. World Clinical Congress for Nutrition (In press). 4. Rai SK, and Khanna S. A rapid non-enzymatic method for the preparation of isolation of genomic DNA from blood. Laboratory Manual and Handbook on Recent Trends in Cytogenetics. KBD Printers. 81-902711-1-3. 2014. 22-23

  • Neurodevelopmental biology and neurodegenerative disorders
  • Developmental genetics
  • Cell signaling pathways

  • Presented poster entitled “Study of Haematological Parameters in Children with Neural Tube Defects” at 4th Annual Conference of Research Section Indian Association of Paediatric Surgery organized by Department of Paediatric Surgery, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India. 28 September 2013.
  • Presented poster entitled “Folate and Neural Tube Defects” at World Clinical Congress for Nutrition-2015, organized by the Department of Community Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, India. 13 – 15 March 2015.
  • Presented poster entitled “Roles of VANGL2 in Development of Planar Cell Polarity Pathway: An Essential Phenomenon for Organogenesis and its Disruption may Leads to Neural Tube Defects” at NATCON 2015, organized by King Georges Medical University, Lucknow, India. 20 – 23 November 2015.
  • Poster presentation on “Cell Lineage-specific Roles of PCP Signaling in Neural Tube Closure and Postnatal Growth”, organized by Santa Cruz Developmental Biology (SCDB-2018) at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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