Divya Kamath, Ph.D

Professional Background

Dr. Divya Kamath is a Research Assistant Professor and Director of the Lead Development and Optimization Shared Resource at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and completed postdoctoral training in Pulmonary and Critical Care, with a focus on Cystic Fibrosis.
Her expertise spans microbiology, molecular biology, cancer biology, inflammation, and lung physiology. She has experience in the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in drug discovery and development. Her current research focuses on developing customizable cell-free synthesis platforms for nucleic acids and proteins to support diverse downstream applications.

• BSc, Microbiology , University of Mumbai , Mumbai , MH
• MSC, Microbiology , University of Mumbai , Mumbai , MH
• MS, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry , University of Missouri Kansas City , Kansas City , MO
• PhD, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry , University of Missouri Kansas city , Kansas City , MO
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Kansas Medical Center , Kansas City , KS
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Cancer Biology , University of Kansas Medical Center , Kansas city , KS

Research

Overview

Our research focuses on developing a molecular biology–based toolkit to support cancer research. We utilize cell-free systems to generate nucleic acids (RNA) and/or proteins, which are then combined with nanocarrier delivery platforms to enhance cancer therapeutics and detection. Additionally, we are developing unconventional methods to produce purified proteins with human-like post-translational modifications that can be customized according to downstream applications.

• Njoka Muturi, Kamath Divya, Bossmann Stefan. 2024. Anti-apoptotic Proteolysis Targeted Chimeras (PROTACs) in Cancer Therapy. Medical Research Archives, 13 (1). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i1.6284
• Kamath Divya, Iwakuma Tomoo, Bossmann Stefan H. 2024. Therapeutic potential of combating cancer by restoring wild-type p53 through mRNA nanodelivery. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 56, 102732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2024.102732
• VanNice John, Gregory Steven T, Kamath Divya, O'Connor Michael. 2016. Alterations in ribosomal protein L19 that decrease the fidelity of translation. Biochimie, 128-129, 122-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biochi.2016.07.015
• Agarwal Deepali, Kamath Divya, Gregory Steven T, O'Connor Michael, Gourse R. L. 2015. Modulation of Decoding Fidelity by Ribosomal Proteins S4 and S5. Journal of Bacteriology, 197 (6), 1017-1025. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.02485-14
• Balachandran Sarala, Gadekar Pradip K, Parkale Santosh, Yadav Vitthal N, Kamath Divya, Ramaswamy Sneha, Sharma Somesh, Vishwakarma Ram A, Dagia Nilesh M. 2011. Synthesis and biological activity of novel MIF antagonists. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 21 (5), 1508-1511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmcl.2010.12.127
• Kamath Divya, Allgeyer Benjamin B, Gregory Steven T, Bielski Margaret C, Roelofsz David M, Sabapathypillai Sharon L, Vaid Nikhil, O'Connor Michael. 2017. The C-terminus of ribosomal protein uS4 contributes to small ribosomal subunit biogenesis and the fidelity of translation. Biochimie, 138, 194-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biochi.2017.05.004