Dr. Rajkumar P. Thummer, PhD

Assistant Professor
‘O’ – Block; Office # 007 (Ground Floor),
Laboratory for Stem Cell Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (SCERM),
Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering (BSBE),
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG),
Guwahati – 781039, Assam,
INDIA

Tel (Office) : +91-361-258-3208
Tel (Lab) : +91-361-258-3214
Fax : +91-361-258-2249
Email : rthu@iitg.ac.in

Professional Experience and Academic Qualifications

  • 07/2015 – Present
    Assistant Professor
    Laboratory for Stem Cell Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (SCERM), Department of Biosciences & Bioengineering (BSBE), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, Assam, India

  • 07/2011 – 12/2014
    Post-doctoral researcher (Stem Cell Biology and Cell Reprogramming)
    Stem Cell Engineering Group, Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology (RNB), LIFE & BRAIN (L&B) center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

  • 12/2005 – 12/2010
    PhD student (Stem Cell Biology)
    Groningen Biomolecular sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) and University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

  • 10/2003 – 09/2004
    Master of Science in Biotechnology (Merit)
    University of Essex, Colchester, UK

  • 09/1998 – 04/2002
    Bachelor of Pharmacy (First Class)
    Anand Pharmacy College, Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, India

Research Experience

  • Postdoctoral researcher (Stem Cell Biology and Cell Reprogramming), Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, LIFE & BRAIN center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany (2011-2014).
    – Postdoctoral research project “Protein transduction as an approach to understand molecular function of core stem cell factors”. Group leader: Prof. Dr. Frank Edenhofer.

  • PhD (Stem Cell Biology), Groningen Biomolecular sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB) and University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands (2005-2010).
    – PhD research project “Characterization and role of UTF1 in embryonic stem and carcinoma cells: Implications for regulation of gene expression, chromatin structure and cell differentiation”. PhD Supervisor: Dr. Bart Eggen.

  • MSc (Biotechnology), University of Essex, Colchester, UK (2003-2004).
    – Master’s research project “Prediction of possible dimerization interface in Class A GPCRs using Evolutionary trace and Entropy analysis”. Project Supervisor: Prof. Christopher A. Reynolds.

Grants and Awards

  1. Early Career Research Award (ECRA), by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India. Supported by a major project (2016-2019).
  2. Start-Up Grant by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG; 2016-2018).
  3. Ubbo-Emmius PhD Scholarship, 2005-2010, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  4. Second best oral presentation award – “UTF1 regulates ES cell differentiation, chromatin organization and gene expression” at the 18th GBB Symposium 2010, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  5. Travel grant to attend the EMBO-DBT Alliance meeting in Barcelona, Spain in September 2010.

Ph.D. / M.Tech. Supervision (as of 2023)

  1. Ph.D.:
    • 03 (Completed as Main Supervisor)
    • 02 (Completed as Co-Supervisor)
    • 05 (Ongoing as Main Supervisor)
    • 04 (Ongoing Co-Supervisor)
  2. M.Tech.:
    • 06 (as Main Supervisor)
    • 01 (Completed as Co-Supervisor)
    • 01 (Ongoing as Main Supervisor)

Presentations

  • October 2023: Invited talk - "Stem Cells" as a Speaker at the Children Science Congress (Navodaya School Children) conducted on 25th November 2022 organized by Govt. of Assam, Guwahati, Assam, India.
  • August 2023: Invited Webinar talk - "Generation of human cells for biomedical applications” conducted on 29th August 2023 organized by LM Pharmacy College, Ahmedabad (invited by Dr. Ketan Ranch).
  • July 2023: Invited talk - "Stem Cells" as a Speaker at the Children Science Congress (Navodaya School Children) conducted on 25th November 2022 organized by Govt. of Assam, Guwahati, Assam, India.
  • December 2022: Session Chair – “Health and Medical Biotechnology” Session on 8th December 2022 in the International Conference on Biotechnology, Sustainable Bioresources and Bioeconomy (BSBB-2022) from December 7-11, 2022 at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India.
  • November 2022:
    • Invited talk - "Stem Cells" as a Speaker at the Children Science Congress conducted on 25th November 2022 organized by Govt. of Assam, Guwahati, Assam, India.
    • Invited Webinar talk - "Recombinant proteins: A safer tool to rewrite the fate of the cells for therapeutic applications" as a Guest Speaker at the International Conference on Biomedical and Clinical Research conducted from 21st-22nd November 2022 organized by Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India (invited by Dr. Vishwas Kaveeshwar).
  • October 2022: Invited talk - "Evolution" as a Resource Person at Teachers Training Program organized by Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Project - Govt. of Assam, India (invited by Dr. Kusum K Singh).
  • May 2022: Invited talk - "Reprogramming Somatic Cells to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Challenges and Opportunities" at webinar entitled "Stem Cell Workshop" conducted from 16th–20th May 2022 organized by inSTEM, Bangalore, India (invited by Dr. Deepti Abbey).
  • Aug 2021: Invited talk - "Reprogramming Somatic Cells to Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Challenges and Opportunities" at a webinar titled "Opportunities in Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine" held on August 20, 2021, organized by D. Y. Patil Education Society, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India (invited by Dr. Shivaji Kashte).
  • Feb 2021:
    • Invited talk - "Stem Cells for Biomedical Applications" at the TE-QIP short term course titled "Modern Analytical Tools for Bio-medical Research and Teaching" held from February 22 to February 26, 2021, organized by the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India (Prof. Vishal Trivedi).
    • Invited talk - "Transfection and Visualization of Cells" at the TE-QIP short term course titled "Modern Analytical Tools for Bio-medical Research and Teaching" held from February 22 to February 26, 2021, organized by the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India (Prof. Vishal Trivedi).
  • July 2020: Invited talk – “Reimagining Education System for Health Care Professionals: Innovations; From an Indian Perspective” at the International Webinar “Re-imagining Education System for Health Care Professionals: Challenges and Innovation” organized by Asian Institute of Nursing Education (AINE), Guwahati, conducted on 17th July, 2020.
  • February 2020: Invited talk – “Technology And Its Impact On Human Health” at the International Conference “Ethics in Health Care: Multi-Disciplinary Approaches” organized by Asian Institute of Nursing Education (AINE), Guwahati, conducted from 21st & 22nd February, 2020.
  • December 2019: Invited talk – “The art of writing scientific papers” at the 1st BSBE Department Retreat, conducted on 21st December 2019 organized by Dept. of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Insititute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India.
  • November 2019: Invited Plenary talk – “An Insight into a DNA-free Reprogramming Approach to Generate Integration-Free Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Prospective Biomedical Applications” at the 65th Annual National Conference of the Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India, conducted from 26th November to 30th November 2019 organized by Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology, Guwahati, Assam, India.
  • March 2019: Invited talk – “An Insight into a DNA-free Reprogramming Approach to Generate Integration-Free Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Prospective Biomedical Applications” at the National Seminar on “Recent Trends and Advancements in Regenerative Medicine and The Role of Omics and Biomarkers in Health, conducted from 28th February to 2nd March 2019 organized by Dept. of Zoology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
  • November 2014: Oral presentation – “Role of core transcription factors in induction, maintenance and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells” at Biological Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar, India.
  • October 2014: Oral presentation – “Role of core transcription factors in induction, maintenance and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells” at Biomedical Engineering, IIT Ropar, India.
  • September 2014: Oral presentation – “Role of core transcription factors in induction, maintenance and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells” at Department of Biotechnology, IIT Hyderabad, India.
  • September 2014: Oral presentation – “Role of core transcription factors in induction, maintenance and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells” at Centre for Stem Cell Research, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • July 2014: Oral presentation – “Protein transduction - An approach to understand molecular function of core pluripotency factors” at the Human Stem Cell Pluripotency Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster, Germany.
  • January 2014: Oral presentation – “Protein transduction - An approach to understand molecular function of core pluripotency factors” at the LIFE & BRAIN center, Bonn, Germany.
  • April 2013: Poster presentation – “Nanog protein transduction results in suppression of senescence, enhanced reprogramming and down-regulation of p27KIP1 expression” at 7th International Meeting. Stem Cell Network North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne, Germany.
  • December 2012: Oral presentation – “Role of cell-permeant pluripotency maintenance factor human Nanog in maintenance of mouse ES cell pluripotency” at the BEST-SC Bonn Workshop WP1.4, Bonn, Germany.
  • October 2012: Oral and poster presentation – “Role of cell-permeant pluripotency maintenance factor Nanog in proliferation and reprogramming of fibroblasts” at the BEST-SC Final Dissemination meeting, Edinburgh, UK.
    Poster 1: Cell-permeant Nanog maintains pluripotency of ES cells.
    Poster 2: Nanog protein transduction enhances proliferation, suppresses senescence and reprogramming of fibroblasts.
  • July 2012: Poster presentation – “Nanog protein transduction results in suppression of senescence, enhanced reprogramming and down-regulation of p27KIP1 expression” at 4th International Congress on Stem Cells and Tissue Formation, Dresden, Germany.
  • December 2011: Oral presentation – “Cell penetrating proteins for hESC self-renewal” at BEST-SC meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.
  • September 2010: Oral and Poster presentation –“UTF1 regulates ES cell differentiation, chromatin organization and gene expression” at the 18th GBB Symposium, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  • August 2010: Poster presentation – “UTF1 regulates ES cell differentiation, chromatin organization and gene expression” at the Epigenetics and Stem cell conference, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • October 2009: Poster presentation – “Characterization of human UTF1, a chromatin-associated protein with repressor activity expressed in pluripotent cells” at the 3rd International Symposium Stem Cell, Development and Regulation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
  • September 2009: Poster presentation – “Characterization of human UTF1, a chromatin-associated protein with repressor activity expressed in pluripotent cells” at the 17th GBB Symposium, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  • July 2009: Poster presentation – “Characterization of human UTF1, a chromatin-associated protein with repressor activity expressed in pluripotent cells” at the 7th ISSCR Annual meeting, Barcelona, Spain.
  • September 2007: Poster presentation – “Identification of novel genes involved in regulating cellular senescence” at the 15th GBB Symposium, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  • September 2006: Poster presentation – “Screening of lifespan extension genes involved in human diploid fibroblasts” at the 14th GBB Symposium, Groningen, The Netherlands.
  • September 2006: Poster presentation – “Entropy and Oligomerization in GPCRs” at the 14th GBB Symposium, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Special Invitation

  • Judge for the Regional level of the Indian Science & Engineering Fair - 2021, conducted by INSEF in December 2021 and January 2022 (online).
  • Judge for the Regional level of the Indian Science & Engineering Fair - 2020, conducted by INSEF in December 2020 and January 2021 (online).
  • Judge for the Regional level of the Indian Science & Engineering Fair - 2019, conducted on the 12th of October 2019 organized at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s R.K Sarda Vidya Mandir, Raipur.

Peer Review of Articles

  • Participated in peer reviewing of research articles in Cell Stem Cell, Stem Cells, Stem Cell Research, Annals of Anatomy, Histochemistry and Cell Biology and American Journal of PharmTech Research.

Professional Memberships

List of Technology Developed/Demonstrated

  1. Dr. Rajkumar P. Thummer played a key role in establishing Human STEMCCA Cre-Excisable Constitutive Polycistronic (OKSM) Lentivirus Reprogramming Kit (Cat. No.: SCR545) for Merck-Millipore (Kadari et al., 2014).
    Publication: Kadari, A., Lu, M., Li, M., Thileepan, S., Thummer R.P., Guyette, N., Chu., V., Edenhofer, F. (2014) Excision of a viral reprogramming cassette by Cre protein transduction: An efficient protocol for transgene-free human iPS cell derivation. Stem Cell Res. Ther. 5(2): 47. (IF: 4.211)

External Examiner

  1. External reviewer and Viva voce committee member: Evaluation of PhD thesis of Ms. Samridhi Narendra Pathak titled “Understanding the Role of Tetracycline and Oxytetracycline on actin Polymerization" from School of Basic and Life Sciences, Jaipur National University, Jaipur (2020)
  2. External reviewer: Evaluation of PhD thesis of Mr. Ketan M. Ranch titled “Development and optimization of in situ gelling systems for therapeutic applications”, from Faculty of Pharmacy, L.M. College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India (2013)

Industrial Collaborations

  1. Bioneer (Horsholm, Denmark) – Purification of cell-permeant pluripotency factors from E.coli.
  2. Merck Millipore (Darmstadt, Germany) – Purification of cell-permeant hOct4 protein from E.coli.
  3. EMD-Millipore (California, USA) – Purification of cell-permeant Oct4 and Sox2 protein from Sf9 cells.

Administrative Responsibilities (In the Institute)

  1. Vice-Chairperson, Hostel Affairs Board (Services) (17.10.2022 - to date)
  2. Hostel Management Portal Committee Member (01.07.2021 - to date)
  3. Hostel Maintenance Committee (23.09.2021 - to date)
  4. IUPC member (16.09.2022 – 14.02.2023)
  5. Warden, Brahmaputra hostel (01.07.2021 – 30.06.2023)
  6. Selection Committee Member for the post of Physical Education Instructors & Coaches (2022)
  7. Institute Hostel Disciplinary Committee Member (16.11.2020 - 23.11.2021)
  8. Institute Library Advisory Committee Member (11.08.2016 - 22.05.2019)
  9. Associate Warden, Brahmaputra hostel (04.04.2019 - 30.06.2021)
  10. Selection Committee Member for the post of Physical Education Instructors & Coaches (2016)

Administrative Responsibilities (In the Department)

  1. Departmental Anti-Ragging Squad - (16.09.2022 - 14.02.2023)
  2. Departmental Undergraduate Programme Committee (DUPC) - (16.09.2022 – 14.02.2023)
  3. Faculty Advisor MTech Batch 2020 (09.2020 - 06.2022)
  4. Department Space Coordinator (09.2020 - 09.2022)
  5. BTP Coordinator (09.2018 – to date)
  6. Department Postgraduate Programme Committee member (09.2018 - 09.2020)
  7. Coordinator, NEW BSBE Building (16.11.2017 - 15.09.2022)
  8. Department Library Coordinator (08.2016 - 08.2020)

Other Activities

  1. President of Groningen Indian Student Association (GISA); 2008 – 2009
  2. Cultural and Events Secretary of Groningen Indian Student Association (GISA); 2007 – 2008.
  3. Treasurer of Groningen Indian Student Association (GISA); 2006 – 2007.
  4. Board member of Groningen Cricket Club (GCC); 2006 – 2011.
  5. Committee member of GBB Genetics Cluster; 2007 – 2008.
  6. Treasurer of Indian Cultural Society (ICS), University of Essex; 2003 – 2004.
  7. Treasurer of MSc Biotech Conference, University of Essex; 6th Sept. 2004.