People

● Remote reviewer for ERC Starting Grant (PE11 Panel; 2021)

● Associate Editor, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 

● Co-founder and partner of a spin-off called ‘Uppsala Therapeutics AB’

● Editorial board member of the journal ‘Frontiers in Nanotechnology’ 

● International Advisory Board Member for H2020 ERA-Chair project TRANSCEND-IRO (ESEI-BioMed)-Romania (2020-2026)

● Scientific Advisory Board Member, European Society of Biomaterials

● Scientific board member of European Chapter Meeting of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society

● Expert grant reviewer in ‘Discipline for Physical Sciences and Engineering’ for the National Science Center, Poland (2016-2018)

● Expert grant reviewer for ‘Sir Henry Welcome Trust Post-Doctoral Fellowship’, UK. (2021) 

● Guest editor of the JuFo1 journal ‘Disease Markers’ an open access journal from Hindawi

● 2016- Organizing Committee Member and Scientific Advisory Board, TERMIS Europe 2016/ Uppsala/ Sweden

● May 2012 Organizing Committee Member and Sessions Chair/ 22nd Interdisciplinary Research Conference on Biomaterials, ‘GRIBOI’/ Uppsala University/ Sweden

● Reviewer for the leading peer-reviewed journals: Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials; Biomaterials; Biomacromolecules; ACS Applied Materials and Interface; Scientific Reports; Acta Biomaterialia; Chemical Communications; Small; Nanoscale; Biomaterials Science; Macromolecular Bioscience; Molecular Biosystems; RSC Advance; Journal of Materials Chemistry B; Soft Matter, etc.

Some of my selected publications in the field of nanomedicine, drug and gene delivery, cell engineering & tissue engineering.

Biomimetic polyelectrolyte coating of stem cells suppresses thrombotic activation and enhances its survival and function, V. K. Rangasami, K. Asawa, Y. Teramura, K. L. Blanc, B. Nilsson, J. Hilborn, O. P. Varghese, O. P. Oommen, Biomaterials Advances, 2023, 147, 213331.

Article Link  

Hyaluronic acid based next generation bioink for 3D bioprinting of human stem cell derived corneal stromal model with innervation, A. Moro, S. Samanta, L. Honkamäki, V. K. Rangasami, P. Puistola, M. Kauppila, S. Narkilahti, S. Miettinen, O. P. Oommen, H. Skottman, Biofabrications, 2023, 15 (1), 015020.

Article Link 

Heparin-derived theranostic nanoprobes overcome the blood-brain barrier and target glioma in murine model, S. Samanta, V. Le Joncour, O. Wegrzyniak, V. Rangasami, H. Ali-Loytty, T. Hong, R. K. Selvaraju, O. Aberg, J. Hilborn, P. Laakkonen, O. P. Varghese, O. Eriksson, H. Cabral, O. P. Oommen, Advanced Therapeutics, 2022, 2200001

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Bidirectional cell-matrix interaction dictates neuronal network formation in a brain mimetic 3D scaffold, S. Samanta, L. Ylä-Outinen, V. K. Rangasami, S. Narkilahti and O. P. Oommen, Acta Biomaterialia, 2022, 140, 314-323. 

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Interpenetrating gallol functionalized tissue adhesive hyaluronic acid hydrogel polarizes macrophages to an immunosuppressive phenotype, S. Samanta, V. K. Rangasami, H. Sarlus, J. R. K Samal, A. D. Evans, V. S Parihar, O. P. Varghese, R. A. Harris, O. P. Oommen, Acta Biomaterialia, 2022, 142, 36-48.

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Pluronic Micelle-Mediated Tissue Factor Silencing Enhances Hemocompatibility, Stemness, Differentiation Potential, and Paracrine Signaling of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, V. K. Rangasami, G. Nawale, K. Asawa, S. Kadekar, S. Samanta, B. Nilsson, K. N Ekdahl, S. Miettinen, J. Hilborn, Y. Teramura, O. P. Varghese, O. P. Oommen, Biomacromolecules, 2021, 22 (5), 1980-1989.

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Harnessing hyaluronic acid-based nanoparticles for combination therapy: A novel approach for suppressing systemic inflammation and to promote antitumor macrophage polarization, V. K. Rangasami, S. Samanta, V. S, Parihar, K. Asawa, K. Zhu, O. P. Varghese, B. Nilsson, J. Hilborn, R. A. Harris, O. P. Oommen, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2021, 254, 117291.

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ILC1 drive intestinal epithelial and matrix remodelling, G. M. Jowett, M. D. A. Norman, T. T. L. Yu, P. Rosell Arévalo, D. Hoogland, S. T. Lust, E. Read, E. Hamrud, N. J. Walters, U. Niazi, M. W. H. Chung, D. Marciano, O. S. Omer, T. Zabinski, D. Danovi, G. M. Lord, J. Hilborn, N. D. Evans, C. A. Dreiss, L. Bozec, O. P. Oommen, C. D. Lorenz, R. M. P. da Silva, J. F. Neves, E. Gentleman, Nature Materials 2021, 20 (2), 250-259. 

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Unexpected role of hyaluronic acid in trafficking siRNA across cellular barrier: First biomimetic, anionic, non-viral transfection method, M. Paidikondala, V. K. Rangasami, G. N. Nawale, T. Casalini, G. Perale, S. Kadekar, G. Mohanty, T. Salminen, O. P. Oommen,* O. P. Varghese,* Angew. Chem. Int. Edn., 2019, 58 (9), 2815-2819.

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Tissue Adhesive Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Sutureless Stem Cell Delivery and Regeneration of Corneal Epithelium and Stroma, L. Koivusalo, M. Kauppila, T. Ilmarinen, S. Samanta, V. S. Parihar, S. Miettinen, O. P. Oommen,* H. Skottman,* Biomaterials, 2019, 225, 119516.

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First Aldol Cross-linked Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel: Fast and Hydrolytically Stable Hydrogel with Tissue Adhesive Properties, D. Bermejo-Velasco, S. Kadekar, M. V. T. da Costa, O. P. Oommen, K. Gamstedt, J. Hilborn, O. P. Varghese, ACS Applied Materials and Interface, 2019, 11 (41), 38232-38239.

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Bi-directional cell-pericellular matrix interactions direct stem cell fate, S. A. Ferreira, M. S. Motwani, P. A. Faull, A. J. Seymour, T. T.L. Yu, M. Enayati, D. K. Taheem, E. M. Kania, O. P. Oommen, T. Ahmed, S. Loaiza, K. Parzych, F. Dazzi, H. W. Auner, O. P. Varghese, F. Festy, A. E. Grigoriadis, A. P. Snijders, L. Bozec, E. Gentleman, Nature Communications, 2018, 9, 4049.

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Synthetic design of growth factor sequestering extracellular matrix mimetic hydrogel for promoting in vivo bone formation, H. Yan, T. Casalini, G. Hulsart-Billström, S. Wang, O. P. Oommen, M. Salvalaglio, S. Larsson, J. Hilborn, O. P. Varghese, Biomaterials 2018, 161, 190-202.

Article Link 

Multifunctional Hyaluronic Acid and Chondroitin Sulfate Nanoparticles: Impact of Glycosaminoglycan Presentation on Receptor Mediated Cellular Uptake and Immune Activation, O. P. Oommen,* C. Duehrkop, B. Nilsson, J. Hilborn and O. P. Varghese, ACS Applied Materials and Interface, 2016, 8, 20614–20624

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Chondroitin Sulfate Coated Gold Nanoparticles: A New Strategy to Resolve Multidrug Resistance and Thromboinflammation, D. Gurav, O. P. Varghese, O. A. Hamad, B. Nilsson, J. Hilborn, O. P. Oommen,* Chemical Communications, 2016, 52, 966-969

Article Link 

Chondroitin Sulfate-Coated DNA-Nanoplexes Enhance Transfection Efficiency by Controlling Plasmid Release from Endosomes: A New Insight into Modulating Nonviral Gene Transfection, H. Yan, O. P. Oommen, D. Yu, J. Hilborn, H. Qian, O. P. Varghese, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2015, 25, 3907–3915.

Article Link 

Smart design of stable extracellular matrix mimetic hydrogel: synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo evaluation for tissue engineering, O. P. Oommen, S. Wang, M. Kisiel, M. Sloff, J. Hilborn and O. P. Varghese Adv. Funct. Mater., 2013, 23, 1273–1280. 

Article Link 

Microencapsulation of cells, including islets, within stable ultra-thin membranes of maleimide-conjugated PEG-lipid with multifunctional crosslinkers, Y. Teramura, O. P. Oommen, J. Olerud, J. Hilborn, B Nilsson, Biomaterials, 2013, 34, 2683-2693.

Article Link 

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Fellowships and qualifications

• International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2023)
  Tampere Institute for Advanced Study, Tampere University, Finland.
• Chief Minister’s Navakerala Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023)
  The Kerala State Higher Education Council, Govt of Kerala, India.
• CSIR-UGC Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Lectureship in Biotechnology (June 2015)
  Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Govt of India.
• ARS-NET Lectureship in Agricultural Biotechnology (2014)
  Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India.
• CSIR-UGC NET Lectureship in Biotechnology (December 2013)
  Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Govt of India.

Honors

• Dr. Divya Ravindran Memorial Award (2023)
  Best Research Paper, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Research articles

1.   Shiji, R., Joseph, M.M., Anitha, S., Raveendran Pillai, K., Unnikrishnan, B.S. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2022. Galactomannan armed superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a folate receptor targeted multi-functional theranostic agent in the management of cancer. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 219, pp.740-753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.07.185

2.   Shiji, R., Joseph, M.M., Raveendran Pillai, K., Preethi, G.U. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2020. A biocompatible glycol-capped nano-delivery system with stimuli-responsive drug release kinetics abrogates cancer cell survival. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 165, pp.568-581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.09.121

3.   Shiji R., Joseph M.M, Raveendran Pillai, K., Himabindu P., Preethi G.U., Sreelekha T.T., 2020. Polysaccharide enabled biogenic fabrication of pH sensing fluorescent gold nanoclusters as a biocompatible tumor imaging probe. Microchimica Acta, 187, pp.1-13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-020-4189-8

4.   Unnikrishnan, B.S., Preethi, G.U., Anitha, S., Shiji, R., Archana, M.G., Sreekutty, J., Anusree, K.S., Syama, H.P., Deepa, M., Anil, P. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2021. Impact of galactoxyloglucan coated iron oxide nanoparticles on reactive oxygen species generation and magnetic resonance imaging for tumor management. Journal of Cluster Science, pp.1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10876-020-01971-9

5.   Unnikrishnan, B.S., Anitha, S., Preethi, G.U., Joseph, M.M., Maya, S., Shiji, R., Anusree, K.S. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2020. Folic acid-appended galactoxyloglucan-capped iron oxide nanoparticles as a biocompatible nanotheranostic agent for tumor-targeted delivery of doxorubicin. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 168, pp.130-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.11.205

6.   Syama, H.P., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Sreekutty, J., Archana, M.G., Joseph, M.M., Preethi, G.U., Anusree, K.S., Reshma, P.L., Shiji, R. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2022. Bio fabrication of galactomannan capped silver nanoparticles to apprehend Ehrlich ascites carcinoma solid tumor in mice. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 76, p.103649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103649

7.   Reshma, P.L., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Preethi, G.U., Syama, H.P., Archana, M.G., Remya, K., Shiji, R., Sreekutty, J. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2019. Overcoming drug-resistance in lung cancer cells by paclitaxel loaded galactoxyloglucan nanoparticles. International journal of biological macromolecules, 136, pp.266-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.06.075

8.   Padinjarathil, H., Joseph, M.M., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Preethi, G.U., Shiji, R., Archana, M.G., Maya, S., Syama, H.P. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2018. Galactomannan endowed biogenic silver nanoparticles exposed enhanced cancer cytotoxicity with excellent biocompatibility. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules,118, pp.1174-1182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.06.194

9.   Preethi, G.U., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Sreekutty, J., Archana, M.G., Anupama, M.S., Shiji, R., Pillai, K.R., Joseph, M.M., Syama, H.P. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2020. Semi-interpenetrating nanosilver doped polysaccharide hydrogel scaffolds for cutaneous wound healing. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 142, pp.712-723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.10.012

10. James, A.R., Shiji, R., Kusumakumary, P., Nair, M., George, S.K. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2016. Profiling gene mutations, translocations, and multidrug resistance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a step forward to personalizing medicine. Medical Oncology, 33, pp.1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-016-0809-x

11. Preethi, G.U., Sreekutty, J., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Archana, M.G., Syama, H.P., Deepa, M., Shiji, R., Anusree, K.S. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2020. Doxorubicin eluting microporous polysaccharide scaffolds: An implantable device to expunge tumour. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 107, pp.1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2019.110332

12. Preethi, G.U., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Joseph, M.M., Shiji R., Sreelekha, T.T., 2019. Biogenic silver nanoparticles adorned Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofibrous Scaffolds avert Tumour and Bacterial Growth. Current Science, 116, pp.1735-1741. doi: 10.18520/cs/v116/i10/1735-1741

13. James, A.R., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Priya, R., Joseph, M.M., Manojkumar, T.K., Raveendran Pillai, K., Shiji, R., Preethi, G.U., Kusumakumary, P. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2017. Computational and mechanistic studies on the effect of galactoxyloglucan: Imatinib nanoconjugate in imatinib resistant K562 cells. Tumor Biology, 39, pp.1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1010428317695946

14. Shiji, R., George, J., Sunitha, S., Vandhana, A. and Muthuraj, R., 2015. Effect of NAA and IBA on in vitro regeneration and hardening in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.). Journal of Root Crops, 40, pp.12-20.

15. Shiji, R., George, J., Sunitha, S. and Muthuraj, R., 2014. Micropropagation for rapid multiplication of planting material in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Journal of Root Crops, 40, pp. 23-30.

Book chapter

1.   Shiji, R., Manu, M.J., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Preethi, G.U. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2017. Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters as a Powerful Tool for Sensing Applications in Cancer Management. In: Anuj Tripathi and Jose Savio Melo (eds), Advances in Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications (pp. 385-428). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3328-5_10

2.   Rajkumar, S. and Shiji, R., 2023. Recent Developments in Two-Dimensional (2D) Inorganic Nanomaterials-Based Photothermal Therapy for Cancer Theranostics. In: Malviya R and Sundram S (eds), Targeted Cancer Therapy in Biomedical Engineering. Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering (pp.563-595). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9786-0_16

3.   Komeri, R., Syama, H.P., Preethi, G.U., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Shiji, R., Archana, M.G., Mohan, D., Tripathi, A. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2021. Prospects of Cell Immobilization in Cancer Research and Immunotherapy. In: Anuj Tripathi and Jose Savio Melo (eds), Immobilization Strategies (pp. 165-193). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7998-1_4

Review articles

1.   Akhilesh, K.Y., Nagaraj, B., Saba, S., Shiji, R., Rajkumar, S., Prathap, S., Uthappa, U.T. and Gholamreza, A., 2024. Emerging Trends of Gold Nanostructures for Point-of-Care Biosensor-Based Detection of COVID-19. Molecular Biotechnology, pp.1-25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-024-01157-y

2.   Unnikrishnan, B.S., Joseph, M.M., Preethi, G.U., Shiji, R. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2017. Green Chemistry Approach as a Versatile Platform for Nanoparticles with Biomedical Applications. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology-Asia, 7, pp.26-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2210681206666161121160505

3.   Preethi, G.U., Joseph, M.M., Unnikrishnan, B.S., Shiji, R. and Sreelekha, T.T., 2015. Biomedical applications of natural polymer based nanofibrous scaffolds. International Journal of Medical Nano Research, 2, pp.1-9. https://doi.org/10.23937/2378-3664/1410010 

• Research video