Dr Sreepoorna Pramodh PhD, FHEA

Dr Sreepoorna Pramodh

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Contact details

Email
s.pramodh@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham Dubai
Dubai International Academic City
Dubai
PO Box 341799

Dr. Sreepoorna Pramodh joined the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dubai in May 2023. She teaches Immunology, Endocrinology, and Cell Biology in addition to other subjects to Year 1 and Year 2 students currently. Her research interests are focussed on cancer and stem cell biology as well as reproductive biology.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of Higher Education Academy, 2021
  • PhD in Applied Biology, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, India, 2014
  • MSc in Biotechnology, University of Mumbai, India, 2004
  • BSc in Biochemistry, University of Mumbai, India, 2002

Biography

Dr. Sreepoorna Pramodh completed her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and Master’s in Biotechnology from the University of Mumbai, India. She secured two competitive grants from the Government of India, namely- the Indian Council of Medical Research Fellowship (ICMR JRF) and The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, University Grants Commission Fellowship (CSIR-UGC) and pursued her Doctoral research at the Stem Cell Lab of The National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, India. As part of her research, she was successful in standardizing protocols for slow rate programmed cryopreservation of human testicular tissue and for culture, characterization, and propagation of human spermatogonial stem cells (hSSCs).

Before joining the University of Birmingham, Dr. Sree taught plant and animal biology, research methodology and life science at Zayed University. Furthering her interest in women’s health she explored the knowledge and attitudes and awareness of Emirati students towards poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). She initiated cervical cancer research and evaluated role of several plant flavonoids as potential chemoprotectants. She has an active research profile and has publications in Scopus indexed journals. She is a regular reviewer of several life science journals such as Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, Journal of Ovarian Research, BMC Women’s Health etc

At the University of Birmingham, Dr. Sree is teaching varied topics related to Endocrinology, Reproductive Science, Cell Biology and Immunology. She will continue to focus in her research areas of stem cell biology and cancer biology, develop research collaborations and encourage undergraduate student research.

Teaching

Research

Research interests

Dr. Sree’s areas of research expertise are in reproductive biology, stem cell biology and cancer biology which have a lot of clinical potential and translational value.

Stem Cells & Reproductive Biology

Dr. Sree’s doctoral work was based on male fertility preservation and male germ stem cells known as spermatogonial stem cells. She has expertise in characterization and culture of human spermatogonial cells and has contributed to several reviews and research papers in this area. She is the Co-PI of a Mesenchymal Stem Cell based collaborative project being undertaken at University of Sharjah and is a member of the UAE Stem Cell Association.

Another strand of research she is interested in is reproductive biology.  She completed a qualitative research study on assessing Emirati students’ awareness of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (Pramodh S, 2020). The study was well received, eliciting good readership and several research groups have used her published survey instrument.

Cancer Biology

Dr. Sree initiated cervical cancer cell line-based research on evaluating plant flavones for their chemoprotective potential in her previous place of work, Zayed University. She was funded for this project by Zayed University Research Fund (AED221,500) which was conducted in collaboration with School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dubai. The epigenetic mechanisms involved in silencing/activating oncogenes under the influence of plant flavones such as luteolin, fisetin, kaempferol etc. were explored extensively. The study led to several publications in Scopus indexed journals. She acquired plant flavone subject knowledge and was invited by other research groups to contribute to their projects. This project laid the foundation of her current research in cancer biology.

Dr. Sree intends to continue her research in cancer and stem cell biology and hopes to secure external grants and engage students in research.

Other activities

  • Regular reviewer of several life science journals
  • Member of UAE Stem Cell Association

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Afroze, N, Pramodh, S, Shafarin, J, Bajbouj, K, Hamad, M, Sundaram, MK, Haque, S & Hussain, A 2022, 'Fisetin Deters Cell Proliferation, Induces Apoptosis, Alleviates Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Human Cancer Cells, HeLa', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 23, no. 3, 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031707

Afroze, N, Pramodh, S, Almutary, AG, Rizvi, TA, Rais, N, Raina, R, Faiyazuddin, M, Alnuqaydan, AM & Hussain, A 2022, 'Kaempferol Regresses Carcinogenesis through a Molecular Cross Talk Involved in Proliferation, Apoptosis and Inflammation on Human Cervical Cancer Cells, HeLa', Applied Sciences (Switzerland), vol. 12, no. 6, 3155. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12063155

Pramodh, S, Raina, R, Hussain, A, Bagabir, SA, Haque, S, Raza, ST, Ajamal, MR, Behl, S & Bhagavatula, D 2022, 'Luteolin Causes 5′CpG Demethylation of the Promoters of TSGs and Modulates the Aberrant Histone Modifications, Restoring the Expression of TSGs in Human Cancer Cells', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 23, no. 7, 4067. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23074067

Hajam, YA, Rani, R, Ganie, SY, Sheikh, TA, Javaid, D, Qadri, SS, Pramodh, S, Alsulimani, A, Alkhanani, MF, Harakeh, S, Hussain, A, Haque, S & Reshi, MS 2022, 'Oxidative Stress in Human Pathology and Aging: Molecular Mechanisms and Perspectives', Cells, vol. 11, no. 3, 552. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030552

Kumar, B, Zaidi, S, Haque, S, Dasgupta, N, Hussain, A, Pramodh, S, Singh, V & Mishra, BN 2021, 'In silico studies reveal antiviral effects of traditional Indian spices on COVID-19', Current pharmaceutical design, vol. 27, no. 32, pp. 3462-3475. https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612826666201223095548

RAINA, RITU, PRAMODH, SREEPOORNA, RAIS, NAUSHAD, HAQUE, SHAFIUL, SHAFARIN, JASMIN, BAJBOUJ, KHULOUD, HAMAD, MAWIEH & HUSSAIN, ARIF 2021, 'Luteolin inhibits proliferation, triggers apoptosis and modulates Akt/mTOR and MAP kinase pathways in HeLa cells', Oncology Letters, vol. 21, no. 3, 192. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12452

Srivastava, R, Tripathi, S, Unni, S, Hussain, A, Haque, S, Dasgupta, N, Singh, V & Mishra, BN 2021, 'Silybin b and cianidanol inhibit Mpro and spike protein of SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from in silico molecular docking studies', Current pharmaceutical design, vol. 27, no. 32, pp. 3476-3489. https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612826666201210122726

Pramodh, S 2020, 'Exploration of lifestyle choices, reproductive health knowledge, and polycystic ovary syndrome (Pcos) awareness among female emirati university students', International journal of women's health, vol. 12, pp. 927-938. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJWH.S272867

Sundaram, MK, Khan, MA, Alalami, U, Somvanshi, P, Bhardwaj, T, Pramodh, S, Raina, R, Shekfeh, Z, Haque, S & Hussain, A 2020, 'Phytochemicals induce apoptosis by modulation of nitric oxide signaling pathway in cervical cancer cells', European review for medical and pharmacological sciences, vol. 24, no. 22, pp. 11827-11844. https://doi.org/10.26355/eurrev_202011_23840

Sundaram, MK, Unni, S, Somvanshi, P, Bhardwaj, T, Mandal, RK, Hussain, A & Haque, S 2019, 'Genistein modulates signaling pathways and targets several epigenetic markers in hela cells', Genes, vol. 10, no. 12, 955. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10120955

Bhartiya, D, Shaikh, A, Anand, S, Patel, H, Kapoor, S, Sriraman, K, Parte, S & Unni, S 2016, 'Endogenous, very small embryonic-like stem cells: Critical review, therapeutic potential and a look ahead', Human Reproduction Update, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 41-76. https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmw030

Unni, S, Kasiviswanathan, S, D'Souza, S, Khavale, S, Mukherjee, S, Patwardhan, S & Bhartiya, D 2012, 'Efficient cryopreservation of testicular tissue: Effect of age, sample state, and concentration of cryoprotectant', Fertility and Sterility, vol. 97, no. 1, pp. 200-208.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.10.018

Chapter

Pramodh, S 2020, Male infertility management with alternative medicine: Promises, practice, and perspectives - treatment of male infertility using plant-based alternative medicine. in Treating Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders With Herbal Medicines. IGI Global, pp. 164-186. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4808-0.ch007

Review article

Afroze, N, Pramodh, S, Hussain, A, Waleed, M & Vakharia, K 2020, 'A review on myricetin as a potential therapeutic candidate for cancer prevention', 3 Biotech, vol. 10, no. 5, 211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-020-02207-3

Bhartiya, D, Unni, S, Parte, S & Anand, S 2013, 'Very small embryonic-like stem cells: Implications in reproductive biology', BioMed Research International, vol. 2013, 682326. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/682326

View all publications in research portal