Viji Draviam

Viji Mythily Draviam is a Professor of Quantitative Cell and Molecular Biology at Queen Mary University of London.[1] Her research considers the molecular level mechanisms that underpin cell division. Whilst working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Draviam identified a process that caused the formation of tumours.[2]

Viji Draviam
Born
Viji Mythily Draviam
Alma materNational Centre for Biological Sciences (BSc)
University of Cambridge (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsCell biology
Aneuploidy
Mitosis
Kinetochore
Spindle apparatus[1]
InstitutionsQueen Mary University of London
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisStudies on human B- type cyclins (2002)
Doctoral advisorJonathon Pines
Websitewww.draviamlab.uk

Early life and education

Dravian earned a master's degree at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore.[3] She moved to the United Kingdom for her graduate studies, where she joined the University of Cambridge. She completed her PhD on B-type cyclins in the laboratory of Jonathon Pines at Trinity College, Cambridge.[4]

Research and career

Draviam moved to the United States for her postdoctoral research, spending in time in both the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[5] Whilst at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Draviam discovered one of the processes that caused tumours to form.[6] Aneuploidy describes the situation where a cell contains an abnormal number of chromosomes, and often occurs in aggressive tumour cells.[6] Before the work of Dravian it was known that checkpoint proteins work to limit abnormal cell division, but not clear why aneuploidy can still occur in cells with checkpoint proteins.[6] Draviam demonstrated that checkpoint proteins may be unable to differentiate defective or normal cells, where the differences can be very small.[6] She showed that checkpoint proteins have to 'sense' that both the adenomatous polyposis coli and EB1 proteins to support normal cell division.[6] During her time at MIT Dravian founded CellCentives, a clinical science initiative to eradicate tuberculosis.[7] In 2007 she proposed using mobile phones to remind people to improve their tuberculosis management.[8]

Draviam returned to the United Kingdom in 2008, where she was made a Cancer Research UK Fellow and established her own research group.[9][10] She moved to Queen Mary University of London in 2015 and was promoted to Professor of Cell And Molecular Biology in 2019.[11] The Draviam laboratory investigate sub-cellular movements that are involved with maintaining chromsome number. They study kinetochore proteins through selective mutations and investigations using single molecule microscopy.[3] Specifically, Draviam monitors chromosome microtubule attachment, end-on conversion, chromosome mis-segregation and how cells position spindles.[3]

Selected publications

Her publications[1][2] include:

  • Timing and checkpoints in the regulation of mitotic progression[12]
  • The ch-TOG/XMAP215 protein is essential for spindle pole organization in human somatic cells[13]
  • Chromosome segregation and genomic stability[14]

Draviam serves as an editor of the scientific journal PeerJ.[15]

References
  1. Viji Draviam publications indexed by Google Scholar
  2. Viji Draviam publications from Europe PubMed Central
  3. "DRAVIAM LAB - Cell Biology & Quantitative Analysis". www.draviamlab.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  4. Draviam, Viji Mythily (2002). Studies on human B- type cyclins. cam.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. OCLC 894595569. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.620365.
  5. "Saga of Life Sciences At Aurora Degree College". Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  6. "MIT sheds light on how tumor cells form". MIT News. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  7. Lombardi, Candace. "MIT honors humanitarian tech invention". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  8. Anon (2007). "Correction". Nature. 450 (7170): 599–599. doi:10.1038/450599c. ISSN 0028-0836.
  9. "talks.cam : Viji M. Draviam". talks.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  10. "Cell Division Biology - Newcastle University". research.ncl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  11. FM, Player. "Episode 49 - Dr Viji Draviam StemCells@Lunch Digested podcast". player.fm. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
  12. Dravian, Viji Mythily; Sorger, Peter (2004). "Timing and checkpoints in the regulation of mitotic progression". Developmental Cell. 7. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2004.06.006. PMID 15239953.
  13. Dravian, Viji Mythily; Raff, Jordan W (2003). "The ch-TOG/XMAP215 protein is essential for spindle pole organization in human somatic cells". Genes & Development. 17. doi:10.1101/gad.245603.
  14. Dravian, Viji Mythily; Sorger, Peter (2004). "Chromosome segregation and genomic stability". Current Opinion in Genetics & Development. 14. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2004.02.007.
  15. "PeerJ - Profile - Viji Draviam". peerj.com. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
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