Vargheese M. Chennathukuzhi, Ph.D

Professional Background

I received my PhD in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. I completed postdoctoral training at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India and from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. During my post doctoral training, I received the Mellon Foundation Grant award on contraceptive drug discovery and development. After about 6 years of working in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development at Wyeth/ Pfizer, I joined the faculty of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at KUMC in 2009.

• BS, Chemistry, University of Calicut, India
• MS, Chemistry, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India
• PhD, Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Reproduction, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
• Post Doctoral Fellowship, Reproduction, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, IGPBS Syllabus Committee, Member, 2023 - Present
• Society for the Study of Reproduction, SSR Development Committee, Member, 2023 - Present
• Society for the Study of Reproduction, SSR Virtual Education Committee, Member, 2022 - Present
• Society for the Study of Reproduction, SSR Podcast Sub-Committee, Member, 2022 - Present
• Institutional Biosafety Committee, IBC, Member, 2020 - Present
• Society for the Study of Reproduction, SSR Distinguished Fellowship, Chair, 2019 - 2021
• Society for the Study of Reproduction, Awards Committee, Chair, 2018 - 2020

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Research

Overview

My research is aimed at understanding the pathophysiology of uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. My laboratory is involved in drug discovery and development for the treatment of uterine fibroids, as well as in the development of non-hormonal contraceptive drugs. We develop and characterize genetically modified rodent models of uterine pathologies as preclinical models.

• Faber ErikB, Sun Luxin, Tang Jian, Roberts Emily, Ganeshkumar Sornakala, Wang Nan, Rasmussen Damien, Majumdar Abir, Hirsch LauraE, John Kristen, Yang An, Khalid Hira, Hawkinson JonE, Levinson NicholasM, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseM, Harki Daniel, Schönbrunn Ernst, Georg GundaI. 2023. Development of allosteric and selective CDK2 inhibitors for contraception with negative cooperativity to cyclin binding. Nature Communications, 14 (1), 3213-3225. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38732-x
• Cloud AshleyS, Koohestani Faezeh, McWilliams MichelleM, Ganeshkumar Sornakala, Gunewardena Sumedha, Graham Amanda, Nothnick Warren, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseM. 2022. Loss of the repressor REST affects progesterone receptor function and promotes uterine leiomyoma pathogenesis. PNAS (Nov;119(44):e2205524119). https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2205524119
• Cloud Ashley, Vargheese AdityaM, Gunewardena Sumedha, Shimak Raeann, Kumaraswamy Easwari, Jensen Roy, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseM. 2022. Loss of REST in breast cancer promotes tumor progression through estrogen sensitization, MMP24 and CEMIP overexpression. . Breast Cancer Research. https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-022-09280-2
• McWilliams MichelleM, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseM. 2017. Recent Advances in Uterine Fibroid Etiology. Semin Reprod Med, 35 (2), 181-189. https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/pdf/10.1055/s-0037-1599090.pdf
• Varghese BV, Koohestani F, McWilliams M, Colvin A, Gunewardena SumedhaSenaka Abesiri, Kinsey WilliamH, Nowak RA, Nothnick WarrenB, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani. 2013. Loss of the repressor REST in uterine fibroids promotes aberrant G protein-coupled receptor 10 expression and activates mammalian target of rapamycin pathway.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110 (6), 2187-92
• Yang J, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani, Miki K, O'Brien DA, Hecht NB. 2003. Mouse testis brain RNA-binding protein/translin selectively binds to the messenger RNA of the fibrous sheath protein glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase-S and suppresses its translation in vitro.. Biology of reproduction, 68 (3), 853-9
• Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani, Kurihara Y, Bray JD, Yang J, Hecht NB. 2001. Altering the GTP binding site of the DNA/RNA-binding protein, Translin/TB-RBP, decreases RNA binding and may create a dominant negative phenotype.. Nucleic acids research, 29 (21), 4433-40
• Morales CR, Lefrancois S, Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani, El-Alfy M, Wu X, Yang J, Gerton GL, Hecht NB. 2002. A TB-RBP and Ter ATPase complex accompanies specific mRNAs from nuclei through the nuclear pores and into intercellular bridges in mouse male germ cells.. Developmental biology, 246 (2), 480-94
• Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani, Stein JM, Abel T, Donlon S, Yang S, Miller JP, Allman DM, Simmons RA, Hecht NB. 2003. Mice deficient for testis-brain RNA-binding protein exhibit a coordinate loss of TRAX, reduced fertility, altered gene expression in the brain, and behavioral changes.. Molecular and cellular biology, 23 (18), 6419-34
• Chennathukuzhi VargheeseMani, Morales CR, El-Alfy M, Hecht NB. 2003. The kinesin KIF17b and RNA-binding protein TB-RBP transport specific cAMP-responsive element modulator-regulated mRNAs in male germ cells.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100 (26), 15566-71