Dr. Ramakrishna Vankayalapati (Krishna) is currently serving as Professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology. Previously, he served as Chair Department of Pulmonary from 2014 to 2022. For the past 24 years his career has been devoted to the study of human immunology and host interactions with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He is currently funded by the NIH as a principal investigator and one of the US Principal Investigator of RePORT- India consortia. This study will leverage the large Indo-NIH investment and TB/HIV research consortium of RePORT-India, which has developed cohorts of TB cases and household contacts in India and has paired Indian investigators with US investigators at 6 sites.
Education
Ph.D - Osmania University, India, 1994
DBT Fellow - Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, India
1995 to 1996
Post-Doctoral Fellow - University of Toronto, Canada,
October 1996 to March 1999
Post-Doctoral Fellow - University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, USA
April 1999 to March 2001
Courses Taught BIOT 6334 - Advanced Immunology
BIOT 5132 - Critical Reading II
Research Interest 1. Identify immunologic markers of persons at highest risk of progression of latent tuberculosis infection to tuberculosis. The goal of the study is to identify immunologic markers of persons at highest risk of progression of latent tuberculosis infection to tuberculosis. We are following household contacts of TB patients at regular intervals to perform immune studies.
2. Innate immune response of LTBI+HIV+ children. The goal of this proposal to understand memory-like NK cell responses of HIV+ and HIV- children with LTBI.
3. Tuberculosis and type 2 diabetes. The goal of the study is to understand various pro- and anti- inflammatory mechanisms that regulate the mortality of a diabetic host infected with Mtb using our established mouse model.
Publication Highlights 1. Jung BG, Samten B, Dean K, Wallace RJ Jr, Brown-Elliott BA, Tucker T, Idell S, Philley JV, Vankayalapati R. Early IL-17A production helps establish Mycobacterium intracellulare infection in mice. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Apr;18(4):e1010454. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010454. eCollection 2022 Apr. PubMed PMID: 35363832; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9007361.
2. Reduced thyroxine production in young household contacts of tuberculosis patients increase active tuberculosis disease risk. Kamakshi Prudhula Devalraju, Deepak Tripathi, Venkata Sanjeev Kumar Neela, Padmaja Paidipally, Rajesh Kumar Radhakrishnan, Ramya Sivangala Thandi, Karan P. Singh, Mohammad Soheb Ansari, Martin Jaeger, Romana T. Netea-Maier, Mihai G. Netea, Sunmi Park, Sheue-yann Cheng, Vijaya Lakshmi Valluri, Ramakrishna Vankayalapati. JCI Insight 2021 Jul 8; 6(13):148271. PMID: 34236051.
3. Metabolites enhance innate resistance to human Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Deepak Tripathi, Kamakshi Prudhula Devalraju, Venkata Sanjeev Kumar Neela, Tanmoy Mukherjee, Padmaja Paidipally, Rajesh Kumar Radhakrishnan, Igor Dozmorov, Abhinav Vankayalapati, Mohammad Soheb Ansari, Varalakshmi Mallidi, Anvesh Kumar Bogam, Karan P. Singh, Buka Samten, Vijaya Lakshmi Valluri, and Ramakrishna Vankayalapati. JCI Insight. 2022 Nov 22;7(22):e152357. PMID: 36509283.
DBT Fellow - Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, India
1995 to 1996
Post-Doctoral Fellow - University of Toronto, Canada,
October 1996 to March 1999
Post-Doctoral Fellow - University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, USA
April 1999 to March 2001
Courses Taught BIOT 6334 - Advanced Immunology
BIOT 5132 - Critical Reading II
Research Interest 1. Identify immunologic markers of persons at highest risk of progression of latent tuberculosis infection to tuberculosis. The goal of the study is to identify immunologic markers of persons at highest risk of progression of latent tuberculosis infection to tuberculosis. We are following household contacts of TB patients at regular intervals to perform immune studies.
2. Innate immune response of LTBI+HIV+ children. The goal of this proposal to understand memory-like NK cell responses of HIV+ and HIV- children with LTBI.
3. Tuberculosis and type 2 diabetes. The goal of the study is to understand various pro- and anti- inflammatory mechanisms that regulate the mortality of a diabetic host infected with Mtb using our established mouse model.
Publication Highlights 1. Jung BG, Samten B, Dean K, Wallace RJ Jr, Brown-Elliott BA, Tucker T, Idell S, Philley JV, Vankayalapati R. Early IL-17A production helps establish Mycobacterium intracellulare infection in mice. PLoS Pathog. 2022 Apr;18(4):e1010454. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010454. eCollection 2022 Apr. PubMed PMID: 35363832; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9007361.
2. Reduced thyroxine production in young household contacts of tuberculosis patients increase active tuberculosis disease risk. Kamakshi Prudhula Devalraju, Deepak Tripathi, Venkata Sanjeev Kumar Neela, Padmaja Paidipally, Rajesh Kumar Radhakrishnan, Ramya Sivangala Thandi, Karan P. Singh, Mohammad Soheb Ansari, Martin Jaeger, Romana T. Netea-Maier, Mihai G. Netea, Sunmi Park, Sheue-yann Cheng, Vijaya Lakshmi Valluri, Ramakrishna Vankayalapati. JCI Insight 2021 Jul 8; 6(13):148271. PMID: 34236051.
3. Metabolites enhance innate resistance to human Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Deepak Tripathi, Kamakshi Prudhula Devalraju, Venkata Sanjeev Kumar Neela, Tanmoy Mukherjee, Padmaja Paidipally, Rajesh Kumar Radhakrishnan, Igor Dozmorov, Abhinav Vankayalapati, Mohammad Soheb Ansari, Varalakshmi Mallidi, Anvesh Kumar Bogam, Karan P. Singh, Buka Samten, Vijaya Lakshmi Valluri, and Ramakrishna Vankayalapati. JCI Insight. 2022 Nov 22;7(22):e152357. PMID: 36509283.