Name: Dr. Ravanan P Designation: Professor Phone: 04366-277230 Email:ravanan@cutn.ac.in
Biographic Sketch:
I am currently working as a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, with more than 15 years of experience in teaching, research, and academic administration at reputed institutions. Since 2010, I worked in the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) as a faculty until I joined the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur. Prior to this, I have worked in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, USA for my Pre-doctoral (2 years) and postdoctoral (2 years) research experience respectively. Additionally, I have served as the Head, Department of Biosciences in VIT from 2016 - 2018. I have supervised four Ph.D. scholars who have successfully completed their doctoral degrees. Since joining CUTN, I have received three research grants from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and three international fellowships through the Erasmus+ (European Union), CEFIPRA (Indo-French), and ICMR programs.
The research focus of our laboratory is to understand, at the molecular level, how chronic inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and oxidative stress influence brain function. These stress pathways are closely interconnected and frequently occur concurrently under neuropathological conditions. The neurotoxicity arising from the interplay of these stresses contributes significantly to the pathogenesis and progression of virtually all major neurodegenerative diseases. Our laboratory particularly investigates how microglia adapt, survive, and function under such adverse conditions, with a strong emphasis on understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms. We aim to translate these findings into clinically relevant insights that may contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Research Highlights :
Our laboratory investigates how chronic inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and oxidative stress affect brain function at the molecular level. These stress responses are closely interconnected and often occur concurrently under neuropathological conditions. Neurotoxicity resulting from the interplay of these stress pathways contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of virtually all neurodegenerative diseases. We aim to understand how microglia survive and adapt to these challenging conditions, and how they may even outperform other cell types in such an environment, while keeping the translational potential of our findings in mind.
In another line of research, we investigate how bacterial components activate ER stress in eukaryotic cells and whether this activation benefits the host or the bacteria. We are also investigating whether caspase inhibitors identified by our group can be used to prevent lymphocyte apoptosis during sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated response to infection.
We employ a combination of cell lines, primary cells, and mouse models to address these research questions.
Recent Publications :
Asveda T, Talwar P, Ravanan P*. Evaluating the Reliability of Virtual Screening: Experimental Insights From Flavonoid Library Screen Targeting Caspase-3.
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2026 Feb 7;136:118590.
Link: doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2026.118590.
Impact Factor: 3.5
Matin M, Singla RK, Jóźwik A, Horbańczuk JO, Ksepka N, Wysocki K, Ijinu TP, Krishnakumar NM,.. Ravanan P…, Bonn GK, Shen B, Atanasovet AG et al., Health-promoting and medicinal properties of Zingiberaceae family plants: A minireview with a special focus on galangal, turmeric, cardamom, and ginger.
Current Research in Biotechnology, Vol 10, 2025, 100329
Link: 10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100329.
Impact Factor: 6.5
Saha P, Ravanan P, Talwar P*. A Multi-Omics Exploration of PPARG Activation in Colon Cancer: Kinases Featuring a PPRE Sequence within Regulatory Regions. Biology Direct. 2025 Jun 11;20(1):68.
Link: doi: 10.1186/s13062-025-00654-7.
Impact Factor: 5.5
Ravanan P, Gurrala, KK, Preethi M, Roy CL, Liz TA, Divya S, Kannan M, Banu JR. Biogas production from chicken feathers via pretreatment with keratinolytic protease secreting bacteria.
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, Issue 12/2025.
Link: doi: 10.1007/s13399-025-06638-x.
Impact Factor: 4.3
Asveda T, Talwar P, Ravanan P*. Exploring microglia and their phenomenal concatenation of stress responses in neurodegenerative disorders.
Life Sciences. 2023 Sep 1;328:121920.
Link: doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121920.
Impact Factor: 6.5
Divya S, Ravanan P*. Cellular battle against endoplasmic reticulum stress and its adverse effect on health.
Life Sciences. 2023 Apr 17;323:121705.
Link: doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121705.
Impact Factor: 6.5
Ravanan P*, Firoz A*, Saha P, Prashar T, Talwar P. Genome-wide screening and identification of potential kinases involved in endoplasmic reticulum stress responses.
Life Sciences. 2023 Mar 15;317:121452.
Link: doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121452.
Impact Factor: 6.5
Talwar P*, Singh P, Ravanan P* Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Discovery of New Bi-functional DAPK1 inhibitors.
Molecular Biotechnology. 2024 Apr;66(4):876-901
Link: doi: 10.1007/s12033-023-00744-9.
Impact Factor: 3.2
Singla RK, De R, Efferth T, Mezzetti B, Uddin Md S, Sanusi, Ntie-Kang F,…Ravanan P,… Atanasov AG, Shen B, The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) and the power of Twitter networking exemplified through #INPST hashtag analysis.
Narra Sai S, Sarah R, Rondeau P, Patche J, Veeren B, Gonthier MG, Viranaicken W, Diotel N, Ravanan P, d' Hellencourt CL, Meilhac O* ApoA-I Nanoparticles as Curcumin Carriers for Cerebral Endothelial Cells: Improved Cytoprotective Effects against Methylglyoxal.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2022 Mar 13: 15(3): 347.
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/15/3/347
Impact Factor: 5.7
Gopinath PM, Twayana KS, Ravanan P*, John Thomas, Mukherjee A, Jenkins DF, Chandrasekaran N*. Prospects on the nano-plastic particles internalization and induction of cellular response in human keratinocytes.
Particle and Fibre Toxicology, 2021 Sep 8;18(1):35.
Link: doi.org/10.1186/s12989-021-00428-9.
Impact Factor: 10.6
Klionsky DJ, Abdel-Aziz AK, Abdelfatah S, Abdellatif M, ...Ravanan P….,et al., Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition).
