About
* Expertise in Molecular Biology: Specializes in virology, immuno-oncology, and gene…
Activity
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📣 Women in Bio Happy Hour - Peninsula👩🔬 🔬 Join us for the next WIB-San Francisco Bay Area happy hour on Date: August 20th, 2024 Time: 6:00pm -…
📣 Women in Bio Happy Hour - Peninsula👩🔬 🔬 Join us for the next WIB-San Francisco Bay Area happy hour on Date: August 20th, 2024 Time: 6:00pm -…
Shared by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the learning, development, and growth I experienced over the last 13 years as an independent…
I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the learning, development, and growth I experienced over the last 13 years as an independent…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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Six months ago, I faced an unexpected turning point: parting ways with my employer of 18 years in the recently tumultuous biotech/pharma sector. The…
Six months ago, I faced an unexpected turning point: parting ways with my employer of 18 years in the recently tumultuous biotech/pharma sector. The…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
Experience
Education
Licenses & Certifications
Volunteer Experience
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Chair, Programming Committee
Women In Bio - Engage. Educate. Empower.
- Present 1 year 7 months
Science and Technology
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Associate, Programming Committee
Women In Bio - Engage. Educate. Empower.
- 5 months
Science and Technology
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Review editor
Frontiers in Virology
- Present 1 year 10 months
Science and Technology
Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Systems Virology (specialty section of Frontiers in Virology).
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Ad hoc reviewer
mBio American Society for Microbiology
- Present 8 years
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Ad hoc reviewer
Plos Pathogens
- Present 7 years
Publications
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High-complexity Extracellular Barcoding Using a Viral Hemagglutinin
PNAS
While single-cell sequencing technologies have revealed tissue heterogeneity, resolving mixed cellular libraries into cellular clones is essential for many pooled screens and clonal lineage tracing. Fluorescent proteins are limited in number, while DNA barcodes can only be read after cell lysis. To overcome these limitations, we used influenza virus hemagglutinins to engineer a genetically encoded cell-surface protein barcoding system. Using antibodies paired to hemagglutinins carrying…
While single-cell sequencing technologies have revealed tissue heterogeneity, resolving mixed cellular libraries into cellular clones is essential for many pooled screens and clonal lineage tracing. Fluorescent proteins are limited in number, while DNA barcodes can only be read after cell lysis. To overcome these limitations, we used influenza virus hemagglutinins to engineer a genetically encoded cell-surface protein barcoding system. Using antibodies paired to hemagglutinins carrying combinations of escape mutations, we developed an exponential protein barcoding system which can label 128 clones using seven antibodies. This study provides a proof of principle for a strategy to create protein-level cell barcodes that can be used in vivo in mice to track clonal populations.
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Engineering Newcastle Disease Virus as an Oncolytic Vector for Intratumoral Delivery of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Immunocytokines
J Virol
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an attractive candidate for oncolytic immunotherapy due to its ability to replicate in tumor cells and potentially to overcome the inherently immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment. The advent of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy over the past few years represents a paradigm shift in cancer therapy. However, the prevalence of severe immune-related adverse events with CTLA4 and PD1 pathway blockade in clinical studies, especially in combination…
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an attractive candidate for oncolytic immunotherapy due to its ability to replicate in tumor cells and potentially to overcome the inherently immunosuppressive nature of the tumor microenvironment. The advent of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy over the past few years represents a paradigm shift in cancer therapy. However, the prevalence of severe immune-related adverse events with CTLA4 and PD1 pathway blockade in clinical studies, especially in combination therapy groups, is a cause for concern. Immunotherapies with cytokines have also been extensively explored, but they have been associated with adverse events in clinical trials. Oncolytic vectors engineered to express checkpoint blockade antibodies and cytokines could provide an avenue for reducing the clinical toxicity associated with systemic therapy by concentrating the immunomodulatory payload at the site of disease. In this study, we engineered six different recombinant viruses: NDVs expressing checkpoint inhibitors (rNDV-anti-PD1 and rNDV-anti-PDL1); superagonists (rNDV-anti-CD28); and immunocytokines, where the antibodies are fused to an immunostimulatory cytokine, such as interleukin 12 (IL-12) (rNDV-anti-CD28-murine IL-12 [mIL-12], rNDV-anti-PD1-mIL-12, and rNDV-anti-PDL1-mIL-12). These six engineered viruses induced tumor control and survival benefits in both highly aggressive unilateral and bilateral B16-F10 murine melanoma models, indicative of an abscopal effect. The data represent a strong proof of concept on which further clinical evaluation could build.
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Design and Production of Newcastle Disease Virus for Intratumoral Immunomodulation
Springer - Methods
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an avian paramyxovirus that has been extensively studied as an oncolytic agent, in addition to being an economically important pathogen in the poultry industry. The establishment of a reverse genetics system for this virus has enabled the development of genetically modified recombinant NDV viruses with improved oncolytic and immunotherapeutic properties. In this chapter, we describe the materials and methods involved in the in vitro cloning and rescue of NDV…
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an avian paramyxovirus that has been extensively studied as an oncolytic agent, in addition to being an economically important pathogen in the poultry industry. The establishment of a reverse genetics system for this virus has enabled the development of genetically modified recombinant NDV viruses with improved oncolytic and immunotherapeutic properties. In this chapter, we describe the materials and methods involved in the in vitro cloning and rescue of NDV expressing murine 4-1BBL as well as the in vivo evaluation of NDV expressing 4-1BBL in a B16-F10 murine melanoma model.
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Oncolytic Newcastle Disease Virus Expressing a Checkpoint Inhibitor as a Radioenhancing Agent for Murine Melanoma
EBioMedicine
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting negative regulators, or checkpoint molecules (e.g. PD1/PD-L1 & CTLA4), of anti-tumoural T cells have demonstrated clinical efficacy in treating several neoplastic diseases. While many patients enjoy remarkable responses to checkpoint inhibitors, a majority show adverse effects. Understanding how checkpoint inhibitors may augment established chemotherapy or radiotherapy regimens or other immunotherapies like oncolytic viruses may lead to better clinical…
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting negative regulators, or checkpoint molecules (e.g. PD1/PD-L1 & CTLA4), of anti-tumoural T cells have demonstrated clinical efficacy in treating several neoplastic diseases. While many patients enjoy remarkable responses to checkpoint inhibitors, a majority show adverse effects. Understanding how checkpoint inhibitors may augment established chemotherapy or radiotherapy regimens or other immunotherapies like oncolytic viruses may lead to better clinical outcomes measured by improved efficacy with reduced toxicity. Here, we assess how Newcastle disease virus (NDV), an oncolytic virus in clinical testing, may interact with radiotherapy to enhance checkpoint inhibitor blockade.
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A Recombinant Antibody-Expressing Influenza Virus Delays Tumor Growth in a Mouse Model
Cell Reports
Influenza A virus (IAV) has shown promise as an oncolytic agent. To improve IAV as an oncolytic virus, we sought to design a transgenic virus expressing an immune checkpoint-inhibiting antibody during the viral life cycle. To test whether it was possible to express an antibody during infection, an influenza virus was constructed encoding the heavy chain of an antibody on the PB1 segment and the light chain of an antibody on the PA segment. This antibody-expressing IAV grows to high titers, and…
Influenza A virus (IAV) has shown promise as an oncolytic agent. To improve IAV as an oncolytic virus, we sought to design a transgenic virus expressing an immune checkpoint-inhibiting antibody during the viral life cycle. To test whether it was possible to express an antibody during infection, an influenza virus was constructed encoding the heavy chain of an antibody on the PB1 segment and the light chain of an antibody on the PA segment. This antibody-expressing IAV grows to high titers, and the antibodies secreted from infected cells exhibit comparable functionality with hybridoma-produced antibodies. To enhance the anti-cancer activity of IAV, an influenza virus was engineered to express a single-chain antibody antagonizing the immune checkpoint CTLA4 (IAV-CTLA4). In mice implanted with the aggressive B16-F10 melanoma, intratumoral injection with IAV-CTLA4 delayed the growth of treated tumors, mediated an abscopal effect, and increased overall survival.
Patents
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Compositions of Glycoprotein Particles
Filed PCT/US2022/032577
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AU2020398658 - Particle Delivery Systems
2020398658
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CA3159320 - Particle Delivery Systems
PCT/US2020/063488
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EP4069716 - Particle Delivery Systems
20829466
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WO2022120095 - Engineered Class 2 Type V CRISPR systems
PCT/US2021/061673
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WO2022261149 - Particle Delivery Systems
PCT/US2022/032578
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WO2022261150 - Particle Delivery Systems
PCT/US2022/032579
Honors & Awards
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Junior Awards in Microbiology - Invited Speaker
American Society for Microbiology
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Dean's scholarship award
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Languages
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English
Native or bilingual proficiency
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Hindi
Native or bilingual proficiency
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Malayalam
Native or bilingual proficiency
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French
Limited working proficiency
Organizations
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American Association for Cancer Research
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- Present -
American society for virology
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- Present -
New York Academy of Sciences
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- Present
More activity by Gayathri
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I’m excited to speak on a panel with Jennifer Doudna and Ben Oakes at #AspenIdeasHealth on Friday, June 21 at 11:40am MT / 1:40pm ET! We’ll be…
I’m excited to speak on a panel with Jennifer Doudna and Ben Oakes at #AspenIdeasHealth on Friday, June 21 at 11:40am MT / 1:40pm ET! We’ll be…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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Thrilled to speak at Aspen Ideas Health this year! Expect a lively discussion on the next generation of #CRISPR-based genetic medicines with our…
Thrilled to speak at Aspen Ideas Health this year! Expect a lively discussion on the next generation of #CRISPR-based genetic medicines with our…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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Absolutely thrilled to have co-chaired the Ocular and Central Nervous System session at the British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT)'s…
Absolutely thrilled to have co-chaired the Ocular and Central Nervous System session at the British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (BSGCT)'s…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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Excited to announce that I’ve joined the Board of Directors at Jasper Therapeutics! Can’t wait to dive in, collaborate with the amazing team at…
Excited to announce that I’ve joined the Board of Directors at Jasper Therapeutics! Can’t wait to dive in, collaborate with the amazing team at…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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On #WorldSickleCellDay, we recognize the important progress being made globally to address sickle cell disease. At Scribe, we're working with leading…
On #WorldSickleCellDay, we recognize the important progress being made globally to address sickle cell disease. At Scribe, we're working with leading…
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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Exciting times ! Christophe is one of our non-viral genomic medicine champions.
Exciting times ! Christophe is one of our non-viral genomic medicine champions.
Liked by Gayathri Vijayakumar, PhD
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