Dr Ranjith Jayaraman

Dr Ranjith Jayaraman

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy

Career Summary

Biography

Dr. Ranjith Jayaraman is an Early Career Researcher within the Cancer Signalling Research Group in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle. Dr Jayaraman’s current work is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular immune mechanisms of the lethal paediatric brain cancer “Diffuse Midline Glioma”. Specialising in preclinical animal modelling and in vitro culture techniques, Dr Jayaraman aims to identify effective immune-based therapies for children affected by DMG.

Dr Jayaraman completed his PhD in inflammatory lung diseases at the UTS-Centenary Centre for Inflammation, identifying the immunomodulatory effects of a novel drug, (human beta defensin-2) in suppressing experimental asthma and COPD, which is currently in preparation for publications and clinical trials.

Dr Jayaraman’s skillset and expertise are also shaped by his pre-doctoral research experience, leading the Christian Medical College & Hospital, India laboratory team. Here, Dr Jayaraman worked on vaccine preventable invasive bacterial disease surveillance with the goal of introducing lifesaving vaccination for children in Indian subcontinent.

Dr Jayaraman’s significant contributions to basic and medical sciences are reported via his 16 publications in high impact journals (> 530 citations, h index-12 Google Scholar). With over a decade of biomedical research experience, he has received prestigious scholarships, travel and research grant funding, and delivered invited presentations to international audiences.

Under the mentorship of Prof. Matt Dun, Dr Jayaraman presently leads CSRG’s immunological studies focused on DMG, guiding staff and students toward impactful research/clinical outcomes. Dr Jayaraman’s current postdoctoral position is supported via the Australian Lions Children’s Research Foundation. Looking forward, Dr Jayaraman aims to build a nationally competitive research profile thanks to the high quality and patient-focused studies he progresses. Dr Jayaraman will continue his efforts in research leadership through active engagement with academic, consumer and industry stakeholders, particularly student mentorship and the organisation of scientific forums.


Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Technology Sydney

Keywords

  • Cancer immunology
  • Gut microbiome
  • Immunotherapy
  • Inflammatory disease

Languages

  • English (Fluent)
  • Tamil (Fluent)

Fields of Research

Code Description Percentage
320409 Tumour immunology 50
321101 Cancer cell biology 50

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title Organisation / Department
Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Newcastle
School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
Australia
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.


Journal article (16 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2023 Van Eeckhoutte HP, Donovan C, Kim RY, Conlon TM, Ansari M, Khan H, Jayaraman R, Hansbro NG, Dondelinger Y, Delanghe T, Beal AM, Geddes B, Bertin J, Vanden Berghe T, De Volder J, Maes T, Vandenabeele P, Vanaudenaerde BM, Deforce D, Skevin S, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Verhamme FM, Joos GF, Idrees S, Schiller HB, Yildirim AO, Faiz A, Bertrand' MJM, Brusselle GG, Hansbro PM, Bracke KR, 'RIPK1 kinase-dependent inflammation and cell death contribute to the pathogenesis of COPD', EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, 61 (2023) [C1]
DOI 10.1183/13993003.01506-2022
Citations Scopus - 3Web of Science - 26
Co-authors Chantal Donovan
2022 Runtsch MC, Angiari S, Hooftman A, Wadhwa R, Zhang Y, Zheng Y, Spina JS, Ruzek MC, Argiriadi MA, McGettrick AF, Mendez RS, Zotta A, Peace CG, Walsh A, Chirillo R, Hams E, Fallon PG, Jayamaran R, Dua K, Brown AC, Kim RY, Horvat JC, Hansbro PM, Wang C, O'Neill LAJ, 'Itaconate and itaconate derivatives target JAK1 to suppress alternative activation of macrophages', CELL METABOLISM, 34, 487-+ (2022) [C1]

The Krebs cycle-derived metabolite itaconate and its derivatives suppress the inflammatory response in pro-inflammatory "M1" macrophages. However, alternative... [more]

The Krebs cycle-derived metabolite itaconate and its derivatives suppress the inflammatory response in pro-inflammatory "M1" macrophages. However, alternatively activated "M2" macrophages can take up itaconate. We therefore examined the effect of itaconate and 4-octyl itaconate (OI) on M2 macrophage activation. We demonstrate that itaconate and OI inhibit M2 polarization and metabolic remodeling. Examination of IL-4 signaling revealed inhibition of JAK1 and STAT6 phosphorylation by both itaconate and OI. JAK1 activation was also inhibited by OI in response to IL-13, interferon-ß, and interferon-¿ in macrophages and in T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Importantly, JAK1 was directly modified by itaconate derivatives at multiple residues, including cysteines 715, 816, 943, and 1130. Itaconate and OI also inhibited JAK1 kinase activity. Finally, OI treatment suppressed M2 macrophage polarization and JAK1 phosphorylation in vivo. We therefore identify itaconate and OI as JAK1 inhibitors, suggesting a new strategy to inhibit JAK1 in M2 macrophage-driven diseases.

DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2022.02.002
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 148
Co-authors Alexandra Brown, Jay Horvat
2022 Donovan C, Kim RY, Galvao I, Jarnicki AG, Brown AC, Jones-Freeman B, Gomez HM, Wadhwa R, Hortle E, Jayaraman R, Khan H, Pickles S, Sahu P, Chimankar V, Tu X, Ali MK, Mayall JR, Nguyen DH, Budden KF, Kumar V, Schroder K, Ab Robertson A, Cooper MA, Ab Wark P, Oliver BG, Horvat JC, Hansbro PM, 'Aim2 suppresses cigarette smoke-induced neutrophil recruitment, neutrophil caspase-1 activation and anti-Ly6G-mediated neutrophil depletion', IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY, 100, 235-249 (2022) [C1]
DOI 10.1111/imcb.12537
Citations Scopus - 1Web of Science - 9
Co-authors Kurtis Budden, Chantal Donovan, Henry Gomez, Jay Horvat, Alexandra Brown, Peter Wark, Jemma Mayall
2021 Pinkerton JW, Kim RY, Koeninger L, Armbruster NS, Hansbro NG, Brown AC, Jayaraman R, Shen S, Malek N, Cooper MA, Nordkild P, Horvat JC, Jensen BAH, Wehkamp J, Hansbro PM, 'Human ß-defensin-2 suppresses key features of asthma in murine models of allergic airways disease', CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, 51, 120-131 (2021) [C1]
DOI 10.1111/cea.13766
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 20
Co-authors Jay Horvat, Alexandra Brown
2021 Jayaraman Y, Veeraraghavan B, Girish Kumar CP, Sukumar B, Rajkumar P, Kangusamy B, Verghese VP, Varghese R, Jayaraman R, Kapoor AN, Gupta N, Kanagasabai K, David JK, Rajaraman J, Sockalingam G, Khera A, Haldar P, Aggarwal MK, Pillai RK, Manchanda V, Theodore RBJ, Rajahamsan J, Mohan G, Jayalekshmi V, Nedunchelian K, Devasena N, Sridharan S, Selvi R, Ravinder T, Narayana Babu R, Mathevan G, Sugumari C, Sugandhi Rao P, Kini PG, Dwibedi B, Kanga A, Grover N, Narayanan H, Mehendale SM, 'Hospital-based sentinel surveillance for bacterial meningitis in under-five children prior to the introduction of the PCV13 in India', Vaccine, 39, 3737-3744 (2021)
DOI 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.05.041
2019 Jayaraman R, Varghese R, Kumar JL, Neeravi A, Shanmugasundaram D, Ralph R, Thomas K, Veeraraghavan B, 'Invasive pneumococcal disease in Indian adults: 11 years' experience', Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 52, 736-742 (2019)
DOI 10.1016/j.jmii.2018.03.004
2018 Manoharan A, Jayaraman R, 'Pneumococcal Vaccines', Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 36, 465-474 (2018)
DOI 10.4103/ijmm.ijmm_18_442
2018 Jayaraman Y, Mehendale S, Jayaraman R, Varghese R, Chethrapilly Purushothaman GK, Rajkumar P, Sukumar B, Pillai RK, Mohan G, Radhakrishnan DN, Sridharan S, Babu N, Ganesapillai M, Rao SP, Kar SK, Manchanda V, Kanga A, Verghese VP, Veeraraghavan B, 'Immunochromatography in CSF improves data on surveillance of S. pneumoniae meningitis in India', Journal of Infection and Public Health, 11, 735-738 (2018)
DOI 10.1016/j.jiph.2018.01.002
2018 Veeraraghavan B, Lal B, Devanga Ragupathi NK, Neeravi IR, Jeyaraman R, Varghese R, Paul MM, Baskaran A, Ranjan R, 'First genome report on novel sequence types of Neisseria meningitidis: ST12777 and ST12778', Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance, 12, 117-118 (2018)
DOI 10.1016/j.jgar.2017.11.014
2017 Varghese R, Jayaraman R, Veeraraghavan B, 'Current challenges in the accurate identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae and its serogroups/serotypes in the vaccine era', Journal of Microbiological Methods, 141, 48-54 (2017)
DOI 10.1016/j.mimet.2017.07.015
2017 Verghese VP, Veeraraghavan B, Jayaraman R, Varghese R, Neeravi A, Jayaraman Y, Thomas K, Mehendale SM, 'Increasing Incidence of Penicillin- and Cefotaxime-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae Causing Meningitis in India: Time for Revision of Treatment Guidelines?', Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 35, 228-236 (2017)
DOI 10.4103/ijmm.ijmm_17_124
2016 Veeraraghavan B, Jayaraman R, John J, Varghese R, Neeravi A, Verghese VP, Thomas K, 'Customized sequential multiplex PCR for accurate and early determination of invasive pneumococcal serotypes found in India', Journal of Microbiological Methods, 130, 133-135 (2016)
DOI 10.1016/j.mimet.2016.09.007
2016 Gopi T, Ranjith J, Anandan S, Balaji V, 'Epidemiological characterisation of Streptococcus pneumoniae from India using multilocus sequence typing', Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 34, 17-21 (2016)
DOI 10.4103/0255-0857.174113
2015 Balaji V, Jayaraman R, Verghese V, Baliga PR, Kurien T, 'Pneumococcal serotypes associated with invasive disease in under five children in India & implications for vaccine policy', Indian Journal of Medical Research, 142, 286-286 (2015)
DOI 10.4103/0971-5916.166588
2015 Deodhar D, Varghese G, Balaji V, John J, Rebekah G, Janardhanan J, Jeyaraman R, Jasmine S, Mathews P, 'Prevalence of toxin genes among the clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and its clinical impact', Journal of Global Infectious Diseases, 7, 97-97 (2015)
DOI 10.4103/0974-777x.162234
2013 Molander V, Elisson C, Balaji V, Backhaus E, John J, Vargheese R, Jayaraman R, Andersson R, 'Invasive pneumococcal infections in Vellore, India: clinical characteristics and distribution of serotypes', BMC Infectious Diseases, 13 (2013)
DOI 10.1186/1471-2334-13-532
Show 13 more journal articles
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Dr Ranjith Jayaraman

Position

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing

Contact Details

Email ranjith.jayaraman@newcastle.edu.au
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