Dr. Archna Singh, Professor

 

 

 

Left to right(Standing): Shikha Roy, Ram Vikas Yadav, Mudassir Ali, Archna Singh, Dolly Rathore, Bhanupriya Awasthi, Sabiha Khan, Megha Suresh

Front(L to R): Nidhi Bailwal, Bindiya Jindal, Sakshi Shukla, Adeeba Malik.

 

Address: Room Nos. 3044 and 3046a,

Department of Biochemistry,

AIIMS, New Delhi.

Phone: 011-26593635; 26593478

Email id: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Academic Details:

Degree	University	Subject	Year
MBBS	Nalanda Medical College, Patna, India	Medicine, Surgery, Gynecology	1998
M.D.	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India	Biochemistry	2004
Ph. D	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India	Biochemistry	2008
MPH	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US	Environmental Health (Nutrition concentration)	2008

 

Positions held:

S. S. No.	Position held	Name of Institution/Place	From	To
	Professor	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.	July 2023	Present
	Additional Professor	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.	July 2019	June 2023
	Associate Professor	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.	July 2016	June 2019
	Assistant Professor.	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India	Nov 2012	June 2015
	Assistant Professor	IIPH-D, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.	Jan 2009	Oct 2012
	Senior Resident	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India	August 2004	July 2007
	Junior Resident	All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.	July 2001	June 2004

 

 

Society Memberships

1. Life Member of the Society for Mitochondrial Research and Medicine, India.

2. Life Member, Indian Association for Cancer Research.

3. Life Member of Immunology Society of India.

4. Life member of Association of Medical Biochemists of India

Research Focus of the Lab:

The broad research focus of my laboratory is on different aspects of lipid metabolism in cancer and obesity. Some of our research revolves around the role of ABCA1, involved in lipid efflux, in maintaining adipocyte homeostasis in obesity since we observed a lower gene expression of this transporter in the visceral adipose tissue of obese individuals. We are looking at pathways related to adipocyte ABCA1 and some lipid species like ceramides that could drive insulin resistance in obesity. We have also studied HDL’s function and quality concerning its key physiological roles i.e., in reverse cholesterol transport, antioxidative capacity, endothelial reactivity etc. We aim to understand the implications of changes in the quality of various HDL-associated molecules such as ApoA1 and Sphingosine-1-phosphate. Our cancer research focuses on analysing various aspects of metabolic reprogramming in pediatric B-ALL. We have recently found inter-tumor heterogeneity in the expression of lipid metabolism enzymes like ACSM3, and ACSL1 among pediatric B-ALL cases and we are planning to apply various approaches to understand the biological implications of this differential expression. Other avenues of interest include bioenergetics, mitochondrial biogenesis and factors regulating mitochondrial DNA copy number in leukemia.

The nutrition research in the lab extends into both the biochemical and public health domains in the context of the dietary quality and nutritional status of indigenous tribal communities of India. Our work among these communities encompasses food systems sustainability research and I am a collaborator on a recently awarded Team Science Grant on this theme in which my role is to develop successful diagnostic technologies for micronutrient assessment that can be feasible and cost-effective for assessing micronutrient status in these vulnerable communities. My interest extends to exploring the nutrient profiles of unique indigenous varieties of foods like mushrooms and indigenous rice varieties. We have also recently started work on a collaborative project with the Department of Cardiology and TGI, India for understanding the effect of foods on inflammatory biomarkers among CAD patients.

We are ably supported in our research work by experienced and sincere laboratory technicians. We are an enthusiastic research group, promoting collaborative work with various departments at AIIMS and between Institutes like IGIB and TGI, India. We endeavour to publish and disseminate our work across the global research community.

In keeping with our interest in metabolism, we enjoy experimenting with various cuisines and enjoy varied culinary experiences to rejuvenate ourselves occasionally.

We have a vibrant and enthusiastic team in the lab that is always striving to enhance their academic and extra-curricular skills.

 

List of Lab members

1. Dr.Bhanupriya Awasthi, Postdoctoral Fellow.

2. Ms. Sakshi Shukla, Doctoral student.

3. Dr.Anudeep P P, Senior demonstrator (Not in pic).

4. Dr.Laxmi Pillai, Junior Resident, (Not in pic).

5. Ms. Bindiya Jindal, M.Sc. student.

6. Ms.Shikha Roy, M.Sc. student.

7. Adeeba Malik, Junior Research Fellow.

8. Dr. Abishek G, MD student(not in pic).

9. Ms. Dolly Rathore, Laboratory Technician.

10. Mr.Mudassir Ali, Laboratory Technician.

11. Mr.Ram Vikas Yadav, Laboratory Technician.

12. Mr.Nidhi Bailwal, Laboratory Technician.

13. Megha Suresh, Nutrition Research Associate.

14. Sabiha Khan, Senior Nutrition Research Fellow.

 

Positions Available: Expected in January 2024.

Some Key publications:

1. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Roy A and Singh A. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Roy A, Singh A. High density lipoprotein heterogeneity & function among Indians with coronary artery disease. Indian J Med Res. 2023;158(3):292-302. doi:10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_1212_22.

2. Sharma G, Tran TM, Bansal I, et al. RNA binding protein IGF2BP1 synergizes with ETV6-RUNX1 to drive oncogenic signaling in B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2023;42(1):231. Published 2023 Sep 5. doi:10.1186/s13046-023-02810-1.

3. Sachan, A,  Aggarwal, S,  Pol, MM,  Singh, A,  Yadav, R.. Expression analysis of MMP14: Key enzyme action in modulating visceral adipose tissue plasticity in patients with obesity. Clinical Obesity, 2023 e12607. doi:10.1111/cob.12607.

4. Bansal A, Singh A, Nag TC, Sharma D, Garg B, Bhatla N, Choudhury SD, Ramakrishnan L. Augmenting the Angiogenic Profile and Functionality of Cord Blood Endothelial Colony-Forming Cells by Indirect Priming with Bone-Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells. Biomedicines. 2023 May 5;11(5):1372. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11051372. PMID: 37239042; PMCID: PMC10216643.

5. Singh A, Dhasmana A, Bandhu A, Kapoor R, Baalasubramanian S, Ghosh-Jerath S. Contribution of natural food environments to nutritional intake and biomarker status: insights from the women of indigenous santhal communities of Jharkhand, India. BMC Nutr. 2023 Jan 27;9(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s40795-023-00669-1. PMID: 36707902; PMCID: PMC9881317.

6. Singh A, Baalasubramanian S, Kalaivani M, Kapoor R, Bhagwat K, Ghosh-Jerath S. Standardisation and application of a novel multiplex assay for estimating micronutrient status and inflammatory markers in women of Sauria Paharia and Santhal tribes of Jharkhand. Br J Nutr. 2022:1-16. doi: 10.1017/S0007114522000320.

7. Sen A, Singh A, Roy A, Mohanty S, Naik N, Kalaivani M, Ramakrishnan L. Role of endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) in determining ECFCs functionality in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):3076. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06758-8. PMID: 35197509.

8. Singh R, Jain A, Palanichamy JK, Nag TC, Bakhshi S, Singh A. Ultrastructural changes in cristae of lymphoblasts in acute lymphoblastic leukemia parallel alterations in biogenesis markers. Appl Microsc. 2021 Dec 29;51(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s42649-021-00069-4. PMID: 34964922.

9. Sachan A, Singh A, Shukla S, Aggarwal S, Mir I, Yadav R. An immediate post op and follow up assessment of circulating adipo-cytokines after bariatric surgery in morbid obesity. Metabol Open. 2021 Nov 1;13:100147. doi: 10.1016/j.metop.2021.100147. PMID: 34993466; PMCID: PMC8713110.

10. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Roy A, Gautam AK, Kutum R, Ramakrishnan L, Singh S, Singh A. Determinants of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) functions beyond proteome in Asian Indians: exploring the fatty acid profile of HDL phospholipids. Mol Cell Biochem. 2021. doi: 10.1007/s11010-021-04304-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34843015.

11. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Shukla S, Sra M, Kanga U, Aggarwal S, Singh A. Improvements in cholesterol efflux capacity of HDL and adiponectin contribute to mitigation in cardiovascular disease risk after bariatric surgery in a cohort with morbid obesity. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2021 Apr 17;13(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s13098-021-00662-3. PMID: 33865458; PMCID: PMC8053301.

12. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Sen A, Singh A, Roy A. Changing Perspectives on HDL: From Simple Quantity Measurements to Functional Quality Assessment. J Lipids. 2021 Apr 26;2021:5585521. doi: 10.1155/2021/5585521. PMID: 33996157; PMCID: PMC8096543.

13. Ghosh-Jerath S, Kapoor R, Singh A, Downs S, Barman S, Fanzo J. Leveraging Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Access to Nutrient-Rich Indigenous Foods to Help Achieve SDG 2: An Analysis of the Indigenous Foods of Sauria Paharias, a Vulnerable Tribal Community in Jharkhand, India. Front Nutr. 2020 Jun 2;7:61. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2020.00061. PMID: 32582750; PMCID: PMC7280452.

14. Thakkar H, Vincent V, Roy A, Singh S, Ramakrishnan L, Kalaivani M, Singh A. HDL functions and their interaction in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction: a case control study. Lipids Health Dis. 2020 Apr 15;19(1):75. doi: 10.1186/s12944-020-01260-4. PMID: 32293456; PMCID: PMC7158160.

15. Vincent V, Thakkar H, Verma A, Sen A, Chandran N, Singh A. A novel flow cytometry-based quantitative monocyte adhesion assay to estimate endothelial cell activation in vitro. Biotechniques. 2020;68(6):325-333. doi:10.2144/btn-2019-0169. PMID: 32283953.

16. Ghosh-Jerath S, Downs S, Singh A, Paramanik S, Goldberg G, Fanzo J. Innovative matrix for applying a food systems approach for developing interventions to address nutrient deficiencies in indigenous communities in India: a study protocol. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):944. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6963-2. PubMed PMID: 31307415.

17. Tyagi A, Pramanik R, Bakhshi R, Singh A, Vishnubhatla S, Bakhshi S. Expression of mitochondrial genes predicts survival in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Int J Hematol. 2019 Aug;110(2):205-212. doi: 10.1007/s12185-019-02666-2.

18. Vinnyfred Vincent, Himani Thakkar, Sandeep Aggarwal, Asit Mridha, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Archna Singh. ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) expression in adipose tissue and its modulation with insulin resistance in obesity. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2019; 12:275-284. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S186565.

19. Suparna Ghosh-Jerath, Archna Singh, Tanica Lyngdoh, Melina S Magsumbol, Preeti Kamboj, Gail Goldberg. Estimates of indigenous food consumption and their contribution to nutrient intake in Oraon tribal women of Jharkhand, India. Food and Nutrition Bulletin. 2018 Dec;39(4):581-594. doi: 10.1177/0379572118805652.

20. Tyagi A, Pramanik R, Vishnubhatla S, Ali S, Bakhshi R, Chopra A, Singh A, Bakhshi S. Pattern of mitochondrial D-loop variations and their relation with mitochondrial encoded genes in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Mutat Res. 2018 Jul;810:13-18. doi: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2018.05.002.

21. Jain A, Bakhshi S, Thakkar H, Gerards M, Singh A. Elevated mitochondrial DNA copy numbers in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A potential biomarker for predicting inferior survival. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2018;65(3). doi: 10.1002/pbc.26874.