Biography:Nishith Gupta

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Short description: Indian-German biologist
Nishith Gupta
Nishith Gupta Humboldt.png
Born (1977-01-03) 3 January 1977 (age 47)
Alma mater
  • Rohilkhand university (BS)
  • Banaras Hindu University (MS)
  • Universität Leipzig (PhD) Humboldt-Universität (DSc)
Known forOptogenetics in Infections,
Membrane biogenesis in Apicomplexan parasites
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
  • Humboldt-Universität
  • National Jewish Health
  • Max Planck Society
  • BITS Pilani
Thesis"P450 Dependent Alkane Monooxygenase from Acinetobacter sp. EB104" (2003)
Doctoral advisorOtmar Asperger
WebsiteOfficial Profile

Nishith Gupta (born January 3, 1977) is an Indian-German molecular biologist and parasitologist known for his pioneering work in the field of Host–pathogen interaction and cell signalling.[1][2] He is currently working as Professor, Senior Fellow of the Wellcome Trust-DBT (India Alliance)[3] and Head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the Hyderabad campus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.[4][5]

Early life and education

Nishith Gupta was born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He pursued his early education at the Rohilkhand university (BS), Banaras Hindu University (MS) and later obtained his PhD in biochemistry from Leipzig University (Germany) in 2003.[6] Afterward, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, United States. In 2009, he became a research group leader at the Humboldt University and affiliate scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin.[7][8] In 2017, he was awarded Doctor habilitatus (DSc) by Humboldt University in the field of biochemistry and molecular parasitology.[9] In 2020, he returned to India, joining BITS Pilani as a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Hyderabad campus.[6]

Career and research

Nishith Gupta's research focuses on metabolic interactions between intracellular parasites and host cells.[10][11][12] His group has published several research articles focusing on carbon metabolism, membrane biogenesis and signaling pathways primarily in a widespread model parasite Toxoplasma gondii, but also in Plasmodium, and Eimeria species.[13][14][15]

Gupta's research on membrane biogenesis in apicomplexan parasites, involving the discovery of unique phospholipids, holds potential for advancing the development of vaccines against parasitic diseases.[16][17] Notably, his work on phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine identified potential therapeutic targets, while phosphatidylthreonine and a novel phosphatidylserine decarboxylase could serve as toxoplasmosis biomarkers.[8][18]

In collaboration with researchers at the University of Melbourne[19] and National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology in Wuhan,[20] Gupta's group has revealed Toxoplasma's metabolic adaptability and identified proteins crucial for the parasite's development, suggesting potential drug targets for toxoplasmosis and related infections.[21][22] In addition, his group uncovered Plasmodium's reliance on host-derived sugars, offering new directions for the development of anti-malarial drugs.[23]

In a pioneering collaboration with Peter Hegemann, Gupta's work in Optogenetic regulation of cyclic nucleotide signaling within Toxoplasma gondii has paved the way for broader applications of light-activated proteins and biosensors in other intracellular pathogens, including parasites, bacteria, and viruses.[24][25][26]

Leadership and initiatives

Throughout his career, Gupta has held leadership positions, including the Heisenberg Fellow of German Research Foundation (DFG) at the Humboldt University[27] and Senior Fellow of the Wellcome Trust-DBT (India Alliance). He is currently serving as the editorial board member of Animal Diseases,[28] Microbial Cell,[29] and Communications Biology published by Nature Portfolio.[30]

In 2021, he founded the Intracellular Parasite Education and Research Labs (iPEARL) in the Biological Science division of BITS Pilani and an integrated One Health initiative – Veterinary And Medical Parasite Infection Research Ensemble (VAMPIRE).[31] These initiatives seek to support the development of future scientists and leaders and contribute to the advancement of our knowledge about parasitic infections in clinical and veterinary settings.[32]

Awards and recognition

In 2010 he was awarded ESCMID research grant for his contribution to the field of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases.[33] In 2014, Nishith Gupta received with the Karl Asmund Rudolphi Medal, an award from the German Society for Parasitology.[34] In 2015, he received the young scientist award in Microbiology from the Robert Koch Foundation.[35][36] In 2020, he received the Outstanding Potential for Excellence in Research & Academics (OPERA) award from BITS Pilani.[37] Banaras Hindu University honoured him with distinguished alumni award in recognition of his achievements in academics and research.[38] In 2023, Indian Council of Medical Research awarded him an International Fellowships for Senior Biomedical Scientist in collaboration with the SickKids Hospital and University of Toronto.[39][40]

References

  1. Gupta, Nishith (August 2013). "Parasite-Host Interactions – Exploiting the Host". https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256295060. 
  2. "Optobiology in infection | EU Researcher" (in en-US). https://euresearcher.com/project/optobiology-in-infection/. 
  3. "India Alliance – Advancing Discovery & Innovation to Improve Health". https://www.indiaalliance.org/fellow/nishith_gupta. 
  4. "Indian Research Information Network System" (in en). https://bits-pilani.irins.org/profile/228837. 
  5. "About the Editors | Molecular determinants of intracellular infection". https://www.nature.com/collections/heddhbhcdj/about-editors. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Group Leader". https://universe.bits-pilani.ac.in/Hyderabad/guptanishith/Profile. 
  7. "PD Nishith Gupta - Research Portal of the HU Berlin - Research Information System of HU Berlin". https://fis.hu-berlin.de/converis/portal/detail/Person/400063027?auxfun=&lang=en_GB. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 Arroyo-Olarte, Ruben D.; Brouwers, Jos F.; Kuchipudi, Arunakar; Helms, J. Bernd; Biswas, Aindrila; Dunay, Ildiko R.; Lucius, Richard; Gupta, Nishith (2015-11-13). "Phosphatidylthreonine and Lipid-Mediated Control of Parasite Virulence" (in en). PLOS Biology 13 (11): e1002288. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002288. ISSN 1545-7885. PMID 26565995. 
  9. nowotnch. "Dr. Nishith Gupta" (in en). https://www.biologie.hu-berlin.de/de/gruppenseiten/molpara/Forschung/Metabolismus. 
  10. "Nishith Gupta". https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hLsG-y4AAAAJ&hl=en. 
  11. "ORCID". https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1452-5126. 
  12. "Nishith Gupta's schedule for The EMBO Meeting". https://theembomeeting2012.sched.com/speaker/nishithgupta. 
  13. "Nishith Gupta" (in en). 2017-03-23. https://www.vetmed.fu-berlin.de/en/einrichtungen/sonstige/grk2046/members/2_-senior_researchers/gupta/index.html. 
  14. "DFG – GEPRIS – Dr. Nishith Gupta". https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/person/99735262?language=en. 
  15. "IISER Pune". http://www3.iiserpune.ac.in/colloquia-seminars/860. 
  16. Ren, Bingjian; Kong, Pengfei; Hedar, Fatima; Brouwers, Jos F.; Gupta, Nishith (2020-12-10). "Phosphatidylinositol synthesis, its selective salvage, and inter-regulation of anionic phospholipids in Toxoplasma gondii" (in en). Communications Biology 3 (1): 750. doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01480-5. ISSN 2399-3642. PMID 33303967. 
  17. Gupta, Nishith (22 April 2005). "Selective disruption of phosphatidylcholine metabolism of the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii arrests its growth". Journal of Biological Chemistry 280 (16): 16345–16353. doi:10.1074/jbc.M501523200. PMID 15708856. https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)69317-6/fulltext. 
  18. Gupta, Nishith; Hartmann, Anne; Lucius, Richard; Voelker, Dennis R. (2012-06-29). "The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii secretes a soluble phosphatidylserine decarboxylase". The Journal of Biological Chemistry 287 (27): 22938–22947. doi:10.1074/jbc.M112.373639. ISSN 1083-351X. PMID 22563079. 
  19. "Toxoplasma parasite's greedy appetite may be its downfall" (in en). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150812131443.htm. 
  20. "Shen Bang-农业微生物资源发掘与利用全国重点实验室" (in en). https://hzaml.hzau.edu.cn/info/1171/2447.htm. 
  21. Blume, Martin; Rodriguez-Contreras, Dayana; Landfear, Scott; Fleige, Tobias; Soldati-Favre, Dominique; Lucius, Richard; Gupta, Nishith (2009-08-04). "Host-derived glucose and its transporter in the obligate intracellular pathogen Toxoplasma gondii are dispensable by glutaminolysis" (in en). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106 (31): 12998–13003. doi:10.1073/pnas.0903831106. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 19617561. Bibcode2009PNAS..10612998B. 
  22. Nitzsche, Richard; Günay-Esiyok, Özlem; Tischer, Maximilian; Zagoriy, Vyacheslav; Gupta, Nishith (2017-09-15). "A plant/fungal-type phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase located in the parasite mitochondrion ensures glucose-independent survival of Toxoplasma gondii". Journal of Biological Chemistry 292 (37): 15225–15239. doi:10.1074/jbc.M117.802702. ISSN 0021-9258. PMID 28726641. 
  23. Blume, Martin (April 2011). "A constitutive pan‐hexose permease for the Plasmodium life cycle and transgenic models for screening of antimalarial sugar analogs" (in en). The FASEB Journal 25 (4): 1218–1229. doi:10.1096/fj.10-173278. ISSN 0892-6638. PMID 21169382. 
  24. Kuchipudi, Arunakar; Arroyo-Olarte, Ruben D.; Hoffmann, Friederike; Brinkmann, Volker; Gupta, Nishith (2016-05-02). "Optogenetic monitoring identifies phosphatidylthreonine-regulated calcium homeostasis in Toxoplasma gondii". Microbial Cell (Graz, Austria) 3 (5): 215–223. doi:10.15698/mic2016.05.500. ISSN 2311-2638. PMID 28357357. 
  25. Arroyo-Olarte, Ruben Dario; Thurow, Laura; Kozjak-Pavlovic, Vera; Gupta, Nishith (2018-07-12). "Illuminating pathogen–host intimacy through optogenetics" (in en). PLOS Pathogens 14 (7): e1007046. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007046. ISSN 1553-7374. PMID 30001435. 
  26. Gupta, Nishith (10 May 2013). "Optogenetic Modulation of an Adenylate Cyclase in Toxoplasma gondii Demonstrates a Requirement of the Parasite cAMP for Host-Cell Invasion and Stage Differentiation". Journal of Biological Chemistry 288 (19): 13705–13717. doi:10.1074/jbc.M113.465583. PMID 23525100. 
  27. "CV Nishith Gupta – RWTH Aachen University spp2225 – English". https://www.spp2225.rwth-aachen.de/cms/spp2225/Projekte/Nishith-Gupta/~nfede/CV-Nishith-Gupta/?lidx=1. 
  28. "Animal Diseases" (in en). https://animaldiseases.biomedcentral.com/about/editorial-board. 
  29. "Editorial Board" (in en). Microbial Cell. 1970-01-01. ISSN 2311-2638. https://microbialcell.com/for-authors/editorial-board/. 
  30. "Editorial Board | Communications Biology" (in en). https://www.nature.com/commsbio/editorial-board. 
  31. Gupta, Nishith (2022-12-01). "Prof. Nishith Gupta" (in en-US). https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/prof-nishith-gupta/. 
  32. "Instagram". https://www.instagram.com/p/CwAAp4VgeWz/. 
  33. "ESCMID: Awardees 2010". https://www.escmid.org/profession-career/awards-grants/research-grants/previous-awardees/awardees-2010. 
  34. "Preise | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Parasitologie" (in de-DE). https://dgparasitologie.de/preise. 
  35. Parasito. "Postdoktorandenpreis für Dr. Nishith Gupta" (in de). https://www.biologie.hu-berlin.de/de/gruppenseiten/molpara/nachrichten/archiv/postdoktorandenpreis-fuer-dr-nishith-gupta. 
  36. "Post-doctoral awards for young scientists" (in en-en). https://www.robert-koch-stiftung.de/en/awards/post-doctoral-awards-for-young-scientists. 
  37. BITS, Pilani (13 July 2020). "OPERA Award". http://sites.bits-hyderabad.ac.in/dload/BITSCAN%20Issue%2013.pdf. 
  38. "Banaras Hindu University, [BHU, Varanasi-221005, U.P., India. – Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India."]. https://bhu.ac.in/Site/Page/1_147_6505_Institute-of-Science-Alumni. 
  39. DHR, ICMR. "International Fellowships for Senior Indian Biomedical Scientist". https://main.icmr.nic.in/sites/default/files/whats_new/Selected_candidates_for_Short_Term_Fellowship.pdf. 
  40. "Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani on LinkedIn: #bits #bitspilani #bitshyderabad #icmr #dbt #biologicalsciences" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/birla-institute-of-technology-and-science-pilani_bits-bitspilani-bitshyderabad-activity-7051796295367233536-I6Mt. 

External links