Neera Tewari-Singh
- Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Life Science
- 1355 Bogue St Room B307
- East Lansing MI 48824
- 517-884-0252
- 517-353-7145
- tewarisi@msu.edu
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Technological advances and increasing industrialization pose an enhanced risk of occupational and/or accidental exposure to chemical agents in addition to their potential use in warfare and terrorism. The major long-term goal of Dr. Tewari-Singh’s research is to pursue both basic and translational studies to develop approved and more effective targeted countermeasures/ therapies against mainly the dermal and ocular injuries from chemical threat agent exposures. The chemical agents of interest include vesicating and nettle agents (sulfur mustard, nitrogen mustard, lewisite and phosgene oxime), industrial agents/ pollutants and pesticides (chloropicrin, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons etc.) that can cause harmful effects/mass casualties as well as long-term ailments to the human population. Developing effective and targeted medical interventions is a critical component of the modern global strategy to overcome the challenges of chemical emergencies in both civilian and military populations, making her research highly significant.
Current funded grants in her lab focus on investigating the role of mast cells and related inflammatory responses to elucidate skin, systemic and/or lung injury mechanisms that contribute to severe toxicity/long-term illnesses from vesicating agents’ exposure in civilian population as well as war veterans. Outcomes from these studies are anticipated to identify novel molecular targets for therapeutic intervention and further drug development to effectively treat injuries from these chemical threat agents. Under other collaborative projects, she is studying mechanisms and testing as well as optimizing therapies to treat ocular injuries from chemical threat agents and ocular inflammatory diseases (diabetic and non-diabetic corneal inflammation and dry eye). Additionally, she is also elucidating the role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-induced exacerbation in skin inflammatory diseases (psoriasis and atopic dermatitis) for better targeted treatment strategies.
Her lab integrates clinical and biological responses, molecular toxicology, biochemistry, signal transduction, immunology, imaging, and cutting-edge systems toxicology ‘omics’ tools to elucidate toxic mechanisms (mainly related to inflammation, DNA damage and oxidative stress). For these studies, they employ in vivo (mice, rats, rabbits and mini-pigs), ex vivo (rabbit and human tissues) and in vitro (cell culture) model systems.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Lucknow University, India, B.S., 1991, Botany, Chemistry and Zoology
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, M.S., 1993, Life Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, Ph.D., 2001, Molecular Biology (Ph.D. Research was conducted at the Leibniz University Hannover, Germany)
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2003-2006, Molecular Biology
University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Research Associate, 2006-2012, Toxicology
AFFILIATED WEBSITES
https://phmtox.msu.edu/people/faculty/tewari-singh/