Ashakumary Lakshmikuttyamma, PhD, MSc

Contact Dr. Lakshmikuttyamma

130 South 9th Street
Suite 1510
Philadelphia, PA 19107

(215) 503-6862
(215) 503-9052 fax

Publications for this author are currently unavailable.

Medical School

PhD, Biochemistry, University of Kerala, India

Postdoctoral Fellowships

National Food Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

University Appointment

Research Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Professional Organizations

Society for Neuroscience

Research/Clinical Interests

My primary research interest is on the epigenetic basis of cancer, I am also interested in examining the epigenetic bases of disorders such as depression and drug addiction. Epigenetic changes involve alterations in chromatin structure and DNA methylation. The molecular mechanisms underlying the epigenetic regulation in cancer and various psychiatric disorders have not been fully understood. Many tumor suppressor genes are silenced through aberrant DNA methylation and alteration in chromatin modification during the disease progression. My research is focused on polycomb complex and its influence on epigenetic regulation of tumor suppressor genes in leukemia, this leads to the identification of novel epigenetic target in leukemia for unique therapeutic interventions and to understand the complex mechanism of this disease.

Epigenetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders are based on the concept that epigenetic events modify the activation or inactivation of several genes involved in the normal function of brain. My research involves the epigenetic genome wide sequencing of specific brain sections to identify the epigenetic markers in depression and addiction.