Anirban Sengupta

About me

Dr. Anirban Sengupta was appointed as Postdoctoral Researcher at Centre of Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge on June, 2023. He is currently working on the sepsis patient samples in close collaboration with the university hospital with the aim for discovering diagnostic biomarkers and patient stratification with the potential of developing targeted therapy.

He studied Zoology from University of Calcutta and completed his Masters of Science in 2011 and went on to earn his PhD in Immunology from the same University in 2020. During his PhD tenure he also completed Diploma in Recombinant DNA Technology (2017) and PG Diploma in Industrial Microbiology (2016) from Madurai Kamraj University, India and his second Masters of Science Degree in Applied Psychology (2017) from Bharatihar University, India. He did his postdoc from Linkoping University, Sweden from 2021-2023 investigating host immune response and vaccine development against the viral infections (Influenza and SARS-CoV-2). He had long teaching experience in Zoology and Pharmacy at Ramkrishna Mission Vidyamandira College, India (2019- 2022) and Jadavpur University, India (2016- 2020).

He served as reviewer of many journals like Immunology,  etc. He also served his time in organizing and management of seminars and social media for Medical Inflammation and Infection Centre (MIIC), Linkoping University and also one of the founder and steering board member of Linkoping University Postdoc Association (LiUPDA). He is interested in science communication and took part in organizing ‘Pint of Science’ at Linkoping 2022. He also communicated science at Calcutta Social Project NGO and in YouTube and public events.

Research description

My research in last one decade broadly encompasses on the investigating the host immune response against pathogens ranging from bacterial (in Sepsis), viral (influenza and SARS-CoV-2), protozoan (Plasmodium) pathogens. One of the focuses is studying the maturation, activation, differentiation, proliferation of antigen presenting cells, B and T lymphocytes, and inflammation status during post-infection and post-therapeutic interventions. In my work I used deep immunophenotypic profiling of the immune cells to improve diagnosis, prognostication and stratification to tailored therapy. Thorough my work I decipher the mechanistic details and the influence of autophagic regulation on the key antigen presenting cells like dendritic cell and macrophage subsets in eliciting immune response against the pathogen. My work also characterizes the adjuvant functionality leading to vaccine development and influence of seasonal influenza vaccination in diabetic group

Research Positions and projects:

• 2023- : Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre of Infectious Medicine (CIM), Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden: Deep immunophenotyping profiling by multi-colour flow cytometry, proteomics and RNA-seq analysis to identify disease signature, biomarker and immune pathway regulation in Sepsis for designing targeted therapy.
• 2021- 2023: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Science, Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology,  Linköping University, Sweden: Deciphering the disease mechanism by serological analysis, dendritic cell- T cell interaction, inflammatory cytokines and antibody response study in SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza infection in clinical patient samples and mice model. Investigating diabetes-mediated remodeling of vaccine efficacy against influenza infection aiming towards designing vaccine regimen towards the diabetic groups. Developing of universal Nanovaccine and adjuvant characterization against the Respiratory tract infections.
• 2014- 2020: Senior Research Fellow, Immunology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, India: Discovering the influence of autophagic regulation on splenic immune cells like dendritic cells and macrophages in modulating the host immune response against the malarial infection.  Deciphering the role of TGF-β and IL-6 and Treg/ Th17 balance in immunoregulation in malarial infection
• 2011-2013: Junior Research Fellow at National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani, India: Work was based on molecular sub-typing of Breast Cancer genomic signatures in Indian women for therapeutic efficacy prediction and prognostic assessment focussing on deciphering the molecular mechanism of protein–RNA interactions and its role in causing the gene expression change in the disease.

Selected Publications in last 5 years:

1. Nano toolbox in immune modulation and nanovaccines, Azharuddin M, Zhu GH, Sengupta A, Hinkula J, Slater NKH, Patra HK., Trends Biotechnol. 2022 Apr 19:S0167-7799(22)00079-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.03.011
2. Efficacy and Immune Response Elicited by Gold Nanoparticle-Based Nanovaccines against Infectious Diseases, Sengupta, A.; Azharuddin, M.; Al-Otaibi, N.; Hinkula, J. Vaccines 2022, 10, 505. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10040505
3. Intranasal Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 immunization with lipid adjuvants provides systemic and mucosal immune response against SARS-CoV-2 S1 Spike and nucleocapsid protein, Sengupta, A.; Azharuddin, M.; Cardona, M.E.; Devito, C.; von Castelmur, E.; Wehlin, A.; Pietras, Z.; Sunnerhagen, M.; Selegård, R.; Aili, D.; Alamer, A.; Hinkula, J.; Al-Otaibi, Vaccines 2022 Mar, 10(4), 504;  https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10040504
4. Partial impairment of late-stage Autophagic Flux in Murine Splenocytes leads to sqstm1/p62 mediated nrf2-keap1 antioxidant pathway activation and induced Proteasome-mediated degradation in Malaria; Sengupta A, Mukherjee S, Ghosh S, Keswani T,Sarkar S, Majumdar G, Das M, Bhattacharyya A.;Microb Pathog. 2020 Jul 18 147:104289. doi: 10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104289
5. Autophagic Induction modulates Splenic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell mediated immune response in Cerebral Malarial infection model; Sengupta A, Keswani T, Sarkar S, Ghosh S, Mukherjee S,Bhattacharyya A., Microbes Infect. 2019 Jun 8. pii: S1286-4579(19)30060-7. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2019.05.004
6. Influence of autophagy, apoptosis and their interplay in filaricidal activity of C-cinnamoyl glycosides; Roy P*, Sengupta A*, Joardar N, Bhattacharyya A, Saha NC, Misra AK, Babu SPS. Parasitology. 2019 May 20:1-38. doi: 10.1017/S0031182019000660 *both authors contributed equally.
7. Impact of autophagic regulation on splenic red pulp macrophages during cerebral  malarial infection.  Sengupta A, Sarkar S, Keswani T, Mukherjee S, Ghosh S, Bhattacharyya A. Parasitol Int. 2019 Aug;71:18-26. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2019.03.008. Epub 2019 Mar 11. 

Total 13 Research Publications, 2 Book Chapters, 3 articles in Preprint/under submission. For Full list of Publications Click Here.

Teaching portfolio

• 2021-2023: Faculty assistance, Linkoping University, Sweden: Taken lab-based practical classes on ELISA for the medical students of the university. Three class days for each semester for three consecutive semesters. Act as the examiners and resource person for the master’s thesis reviewing and presentation. Mentored three students for their bachelors/master’s thesis work. Completed 'Teaching in Higher Education' Pedagogy Course for Teacher's Training.

• 2019- 2022: Guest Lecturer, Dept. of Zoology, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir, Kolkata, India: Taking Degree Level Honours Classes for Zoology. Took the lead responsibility in delivering the lectures and performing practical hands-on laboratory classes. Take responsibility for guiding for the student’s projects. Act as the paper-setter and examiner. The college ranked in Top 10 colleges of India

• 2016- 2020: Guest Faculty, Jadavpur University, Pharmaceutical Technology Department , Kolkata, India: Taught undergraduate students ‘pharmaceutical technology’ with a focus on designing drug and other aspects of pharmaceutical science. Coaching, Teaching, and mentoring the students with individual batches of 50+ students. Worked in close association with the other faculty members of the department to design the assessment methods for the students. Worked as the official paper-setter and examiner for the university. The university ranked in top 10 universities in India.

• 2015- 2019: Student Mentor for the Master’s Thesis and Project Work, University of Calcutta, India: Guided, designed, mentored and prepare five students for their Master’s thesis work at the lab. Licensed to teach in any college/university in India according to National Eligibility Test (NET) Lectureship Qualification.

• 2020- 2021: Academic Expert, Toppr.com: Guiding and Mentoring students all across the country for their future academic pathways and planning for their success in upcoming competitive exams. Designing the structured lesson plan and addressing the student’s needs and requirements and designing customized plans for their success. Worked in close associate with the marketing team for the better success of the platform.

• 2019- 2021: Freelance Biology Faculty for Medical Entrance Exam Training at Pathfinder Institution: Regular Classroom teaching in different centers for both fresh and repeater batch, use of PowerPoint projection, solving MCQs, doubt clearance, use of YouTube video/animation clips for better understanding of key biological concepts.

• 2015-2018: Teaching high school underprivileged students as a volunteer teacher at Calcutta Social Project NGO.

Education

Degrees:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Immunology Lab, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Calcutta (2020)
• Master of Science (M.Sc) in Zoology, Maulana Azad College, Univ.of Calcutta (2011)
• Master of Science (M.Sc) in Applied Psychology, Bharathiar University (2017)
• PG Diploma in Industrial Microbiology (PGDIM), Madurai Kamraj University (2016)
• Diploma in Recombinant DNA Technology (DRDT), Madurai Kamraj University (2017)

Online Certification:

• Fundamentals of Clinical Trials, Harvard University
• Design & interpretation of Clinical Trials, Johns Hopkins University
• Antimicrobial Stewardship: Optimization of Antibiotic Practices, Stanford University
• Genomics and Precession Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
• Epigenetic Control of Gene Expression, University of Melbourne
• Drug Discovery, Development & Commercialization, University of California, San Diego
• Vaccine, University of Pennsylvinia

Career Development Courses:

• Grant Writing Workshop, Linkoping University, (Sep-Dec 2021).
• 160 hours pedagogy course on ‘Teaching in Higher Education’, Linkoping University, 2022
• Research Leadership Course, Linkoping University, 2022

Workshops/Trainings:

Workshops and Training from National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur; University of Kalyani, Indian Institute of Psychometry and others. With topics ranging from basic Bioinformatics, Protein Folding, Genetic Dissection of Complex Diseases, Psychological Testing Workshop and others

Academic honours, awards and prizes

Work Presentation Awards:

• ‘Young Investigator Award’ for Best Poster Presentation followed by Oral presentation at SFRR-INDIA-14, Lonavala organized by Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 2014. (Society for Free Radical Research)
• Best Poster Presentation Award’ for work presentation at 25th National Congress of Parasitology held at CSIR- Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Oct 2014.
• Best Poster Presentation Award’ for work presentation at 26th National Congress of Parasitology held at Banaras Hindu University, Banaras, Jan, 2016 (Indian Society of Parasitology)
• Best Oral Presentation Award’ for work presentation at 44th Annual conference Immunological Society of India (Immunocn-2017), Ahmedabad, Gujrat, Dec-2017.
• Invited Lecture and Life Membership Grant, International Association for Promotion of Healthcare and Life-Science Research (IAPHLSR) at Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Executive Centre, Singapore
• Young Research Scholarship for 14th International Conference on Healthcare and Life Science Research (ICHLSR), 17-18 June 2017, Singapore from Global Research Development Services.

Fellowship Grant Awards:

• Medical Inflammation and Infection Centre (MIIC) postdoctoral fellowship, Linkoping University 2021-2023
• Three times Awardee for Junior Research Fellowship and Lectureship, National Eligibility Test (NET), University Grants Commission (UGC), India, 2011, 2012, 2013.

Travel Grant Awards:

• Foreign Travel Grant from Calcutta University- University Grants Commission (UGC), India, 2016
• Travel Grant Award from Middle-European Societies of Immunology & Allergology (MESIA)- European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) for Oral Presentation at Budapest, Hungary; Dec, 2016.
• Calcutta University-UGC Foreign Travel Grant 2017
• European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Travel Grant for Autophagy Conference 2017,Croatia
• Foreign Travel Grant, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, 2017