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Dr. Syed Sajad Hussain
Scientist-F
Cancer Pharmacology Division
CSIR – Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Sanatnagar Srinagar-190005
Email: sshussain[at]iiim[dot]res[dot]in
Bio Sketch
Syed Sajad Hussain began his research career at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, as a Project Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Namita Surolia. During this period, he contributed to identifying the key amino acid residues in the Plasmodium falciparum FabG protein that are essential for its interaction with the Acyl Carrier Protein (ACP).
He obtained his PhD under the supervision of Dr Stefan Dimitrov at the University Joseph Fourier, France. His doctoral research focused on chromatin structure and organisation, leading to the resolution of the chromatosome structure through an interdisciplinary approach that integrated cryo-electron microscopy, hydroxyl radical footprinting, coarse-grained DNA mechanics, and X-ray crystallography.
Subsequently, he pursued postdoctoral research with Dr Dimitar Angelov at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Lyon, France. His work focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling and on elucidating the interactions between histone variants and linker histones that regulate chromatin architecture and function.
In 2012, Syed Sajad Hussain joined CSIR–Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu, as a Scientist. He currently serves as Scientist-F at the CSIR-IIIM Branch Laboratory, Srinagar, and is also a Professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad.
His current research focuses on small-molecule target based drug discovery and development. His laboratory conducts multidisciplinary research in the areas of epigenetics, cancer biology and sickle cell anaemia. Through these efforts, his group aims to uncover novel therapeutic targets and develop innovative treatment strategies for diseases of significant unmet medical need.
Education
| Degree | Subjects | University | Qualifying Year |
| Doctorate (PhD) | Molecular and Cell Biology | University Joseph Fourier, France | 2009 |
| Masters (MSc) | Biochemistry | University of Kashmir | 2005 |
| Bachelors (BSc) | Biochemistry,Chemistry,Zoology,English | University of Kashmir |
2003
|
Position Held
| Position Held | Period | Organization |
| Scientist-F | 16-04-2024 – Present | CSIR-IIIM |
| Scientist-E | 16-04-2019 – 15-04-2024 | CSIR-IIIM |
| Scientist-D | 23-12-2015 to 15-04-2019 | CSIR-IIIM |
| Senior Scientist (Ad-hoc) | 16-04-2015 to 22-12-2015 | CSIR-IIIM |
| Scientist Fellow (CSIR Quick hire Fellow) | 16-04-2012 to 15-04-2015 | CSIR-IIIM |
| Post Doctoral Fellow | 01-01-2010 to 29-02-2012 | Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon (ENS), France |
| Project Fellow | 06-07-2005 to 30-09-2006 | JNCASR Bangalore |
Area of Expertise
- G9a is a histone lysine methyltransferase responsible for mono-, di-, and trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9), playing a critical role in heterochromatin formation and transcriptional silencing. Aberrant G9a activity has been implicated in cancer progression, and its inhibition has been shown to trigger autophagy, apoptosis, and cellular senescence in various malignancies. Our research is directed toward the discovery of novel G9a inhibitors and the evaluation of their anticancer and gamma-globin-inducing potential through mechanistic and preclinical studies.
- Sickle cell disease is a hereditary hemoglobinopathy characterised by chronic hemolytic anaemia and recurrent vaso-occlusive crises, leading to significant morbidity and reduced quality of life. Elevated expression of fetal haemoglobin (HbF; γ-globin) has been demonstrated to ameliorate disease severity by inhibiting sickle haemoglobin polymerisation. Our research aims to identify and develop novel small molecules and natural-product-derived therapeutics capable of inducing γ-globin expression and increasing HbF levels as a disease-modifying strategy for sickle cell disease.
- Phosphodiesterases constitute an important family of druggable enzymes implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of numerous human diseases. Our research focuses on identifying and developing novel, selective PDE inhibitors with the potential to serve as lead candidates for therapeutic intervention across diverse clinical indications.
Projects
- Association of PI3K/Wnt Signalling and Therapeutic Implications in Colon Cancer Stem Cells
- Evaluation of medicinal plants for the anti-Alzheimer activity in Caenorhabditis elegans for developing effective therapeutics against Alzheimer’s disease
- Developing Andrographis paniculata extract as a phytopharmaceutical for the management of Sickle Cell Anaemia
Publications
| Authors | Title | Journal |
| Dar MI, Jan S, Reddy GL, Wani R, Mudassir S, Dar MJ, Sawant SD, Ram A Vishwakarma RA, Syed SH* | Differentiation of human neuroblastoma cell line IMR-32 by sildenafil and its newly discovered analogue IS00384 |
Cellular Signalling 2020 Jan;65:109425
|
| Dar MI, Mahajan P, Jan S, Jain SK, Tiwari H, Sandey J, Bharate S, Amit Nargotra A∗, Syed SH∗ | Rottlerin is a pan phosphodiesterase inhibitor and can induce neurodifferentiation in IMR-32 human neuroblastoma cells | European Journal of Pharmacology 2019 Aug 15;857:172448 |
| Reddy GL, Dar MI, Hudwekar AD, Mahajan P, Nargotra A, Baba AM, Nandi U, Wazir P, Bharate S, Singh G, Vishwakarma RA, Syed SH∗, Sawant SD∗ | Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Pyrazolopyrimidinone Based Potent and Selective PDE5 Inhibitors for Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction |
Bioorganic Chemistry 2019 Aug;89:103022
|
| Bednar J, Garcia-Saez I, Boopathi R, Cutter AR, Papai G, Reymer A, Syed SH, Lone IN, Tonchev O, Crucifix C, Menoni H, Papin C, Skoufias DA, Kurumizaka H, Lavery R, Hamiche A, Hayes JJ, Schultz P, Angelov D, Petosa C, Dimitrov S | Structure and Dynamics of a 197 bp Nucleosome in Complex with Linker Histone H1. | Molecular Cell. 2017 May 4;66(3):384-397.e8 |
| Roulland Y, Ouararhni K, Naidenov M, Ramos L, Shuaib M, Syed SH, Lone IN, Boopathi R, Fontaine E, Papai G, Tachiwana H, Gautier T, Skoufias D, Padmanabhan K, Bednar J, Kurumizaka H, Schultz P, Angelov D, Hamiche A, Dimitrov S | The Flexible Ends of CENP-A Nucleosome Are Required for Mitotic Fidelity | Molecular Cell. 2016 Aug 18;63(4):674-85 |
| Sawant SD, Lakshma Reddy G, Dar MI, Srinivas M, Gupta G, Sahu PK, Mahajan P, Nargotra A, Singh S, Sharma SC, Tikoo M, Singh G, Vishwakarma RA*, Syed SH* | Discovery of novel pyrazolopyrimidinone analogs as potent inhibitors of phosphodiesterase type-5 | Bioorg Med Chem. 2015 May 1;23(9):2121-8 |
| Shukla MS#, Syed SH#, Goutte-Gattat D, Richard JL, Montel F, Hamiche A, Travers A, Faivre-Moskalenko C, Bednar J, Hayes JJ, Angelov D, Dimitrov S | The docking domain of histone H2A is required for H1 binding and RSC-mediated nucleosome remodeling | Nucleic Acids Res. 2011 Apr;39(7):2559-70 |
| Syed SH, Goutte-Gattat D, Becker N, Meyer S, Shukla MS, Hayes JJ, Everaers R, Angelov D, Bednar J, Dimitrov S | Single-base resolution mapping of H1-nucleosome interactions and 3D organization of the nucleosome | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 May 25;107(21):9620-5) |
| Shukla MS, Syed SH, Montel F, Faivre-Moskalenko C, Bednar J, Travers A, Angelov D, Dimitrov S. | Remosomes: RSC generated non-mobilized particles with approximately 180 bp DNA loosely associated with the histone octamer | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Feb 2;107(5):1936-41 |
| Syed SH, Boulard M, Shukla MS, Gautier T, Travers A, Bednar J, Faivre-Moskalenko C, Dimitrov S, Angelov D. | The incorporation of the novel histone variant H2AL2 confers unusual structural and functional properties of the nucleosome | Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Aug;37(14):4684-95 |
Patents
| Inventors/ Contributors | Title | Description | Year |
| SD Sawant, GL Reddy, M Srinavas, SH Syed, MI Dar, A Nargotra, M Priya, RA Vishwakarma. | Pyrazolopyrimidinones for the treatment of impotence and process for the preparation thereof | WO2015/114647 (43) | 06 August 2015 |
Awards and Honours
- Merit Scholarship awarded to meritorious students for outstanding academic performance in the Annual University Examinations (University of Kashmir).
- Best Student of the M.Sc. Biochemistry Batch of 2004 Award’ for overall performance (Department of Biochemistry, University of Kashmir, India).
- University Gold medal for securing first position in the Post graduate course of Biochemistry (University of Kashmir).
- Qualified the UGC-NET Examination for Lectureship (CSIR).
- Awarded International PhD fellowship (International Graduate School in Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Cologne, Germany).
- Awarded International PhD fellowship (University Joseph Fourier Grenoble, France).
- Awarded “Pipettes d’Or” award and travel grant to attend an international conference (UFR de biologie, Grenoble France.
- Awarded Postdoctoral Fellowship (INSERM France).
- Awarded Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of Massachusetts).
- Received Early Career Research Award (Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India).
Students
| S. No. | Name/ AcSIR Enrollment No. |
Designation | Area of Interest |
| 1 | Dr Asif Khurshid Qazi | CSIR-SRA (Pool Scientist) | Association of PI3K/Wnt Signalling and Therapeutic Implications in Colon Cancer Stem Cells |
| 2 | Dr Jaffar M. Bhat | TARE Fellow | Evaluation of medicinal plants for the anti-Alzheimer activity in Caenorhabditis elegans for developing effective therapeutics against Alzheimer’s disease |
| 3 |
Iqra Mushtaq 10BB19A37013 |
Ph.D Scholar | Identification and cloning of histone variants in Crocus Sativus |
| 4 |
Muhammad Omais Parray 10BB23A37019 |
Ph.D Scholar | Developing Andrographis paniculata extract as a phytopharmaceutical for the management of Sickle Cell Anaemia |
| 5 |
Irba Ayani 10BB24J37003 |
Ph.D Scholar | Cloning and Characterisation of core histones of Crocus sativus and elucidating the role of H2AX variant in DNA damage repair |
| 6 |
Mina Rashid 10BB24A37017 |
Ph.D Scholar | Exploring the potential of newly discovered G9a inhibitors as Gamma-Globin activators |
| 7 |
Farzana Arjumand 10BB25J37025 |
Ph.D Scholar | Discovery of novel cytotoxic molecules and their mechanism of action. |
Alumni
| S. No. | Name | Thesis Title |
| 1 | Dr Mohd. Ishaq Dar | Discovery of small molecule inhibitors of Phosphodiesterases |
| 2 | Dr Suraya Jan | Discovery of new G9a inhibitors and their anticancer activity |
| 3 | Dr Jagjeet Kour | Discovery of Gamma-Globin Inducers as Therapeutics for Sickle Cell Disease |
| 4 | Dr Rubiada | Discovery of A Novel S-adenosyl Methionine Competitive Inhibitor of Histone Methyltransferases and Its Utility as a Pharmacological Agent in Cancer and Sickle Cell Anaemia |
