Divya Kamath, Ph.D

Professional Background

Dr. Divya Kamath is a Research Assistant Professor and Deputy Director for Lead Development and Optimization Shared Resource at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She has previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on drug discovery and development. Dr. Kamath obtained her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry and went on to pursue her post-doctoral studies in pulmonary and critical care, focusing on cystic fibrosis. She joined the Department of cancer biology in 2022 and has been working on the delivery of nucleic acids across mucosal membranes. She is also working on developing methods for the cell-free synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins that can be customized for an array of 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 focus has been on developing a molecular biology-based toolkit to support cancer research. We are utilizing cell-free methods to generate nucleic acids as RNA and/or proteins and combining them with nanocarrier delivery to improve cancer therapeutics and detection. We are developing unconventional methods to produce purified proteins with human post-translational modification that can be customized based on the 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