Dr.D.Rex Arunraj, Ph.D

PDF: University of Calgary, Canada

Associate Professor
Area: Integrative Plant Biology
Affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, Kattankulathur Campus, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University).
Email ID: rexarund@srmist.edu.in

Other Details:

Courses: 

• Molecular biology of the cell
• Molecular genetics
• Regulation of gene expression
• Gene cloning lab
• Gene expression lab

Research Interests:

• Non-GM mediated Crop improvement for sustainable agriculture
• Non-GM mediated Crop value addition
• Plant functional studies
• Plant metabolic engineering
• DNA barcoding for species authentication
   

Selected Publications

• Pradeep Kumar, Y, Ravishankar, P.L, Anila, E.N, Suhail, A, Priyankar, C, and Arunraj Rex (2018). Persistent HSV and CMV viral load in periodontal pockets after non-surgical therapy. Research Journal of Biotechnology. 13. 49-51.
• R Arunraj, MA Samuel (2017) Integration of amplification efficiency in qPCR analysis allows precise and relative quantification of transcript abundance of genes from large gene families using RNA isolated from difficult tissues, Briefings in functional genomics
• Kamath Mukund Manali, Rex Arunraj, Thangarathinam Kumar, Mohandass Ramya (2016), Detection of microcystin producing cyanobacteria in the Spirulina dietary supplements using Multiplex HRM Quantitative PCR, Journal of Applied Phycology pages 1-8.
• Gayathri Devi S, Aliya Fathima A, Radha S, Rex Arunraj, Wayne R. Curtis, Ramya M (2015), A rapid and economical method for efficient DNA extraction from diverse soils suitable for metagenomic applications, Plos One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132441.
• Rathinasabapathi, P, Deepak S. Hiremath, Rex Arunraj, Parani, M. (2015) Molecular Detection of New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase-1 (NDM-1) Positive Bacteria from Environmental and Drinking Water Samples by Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification of blaNDM-1. Indian J Microbiol. 55, 4, 400-405.
• Rex Arunraj, Moorthy Abiramavalli, PasupathyRathinasabapathi (2015) DNA barcoding identifies the component species in the powder formulations of plant derived raw drugs sold in retail market in India. Research Journal of Biotechnology, 11 (3), 100-107.
• Rex Arunraj, Bindu Sree, Parani. (2014) Desiccation and topping induced silencing of putrescine N-methyl transferase2 regulate nicotine biosynthesis in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Petite Havana. Australian journal of crop science 8(1):109-118
• Purushothaman. N, Newmaster. S.G, Ragupathy. S, Stalin. N, Suresh. D, Rex Arunraj. D, Gnanasekaran. G, Vassou. S.L, Narasimhan. D, Parani. M, (2014) A Tiered Barcode Authentication Tool to Differentiate Medicinal Species of Cassia in India, Genetics and Molecular Research
• Mrinalini, Rathinasabapathi, Rex Arunraj and Muralidharan, (2013) Relative variability in  transformational efficiency of CaCl2, MgCl2, Tris-HCl, and Tris EDTA in E coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens,Indian journal of Applied Research 3(5):214-216
• DR Arunraj, BG Babu (2001) Transgenics in Agriculture, Resonance 6 (2), 83-92

Funding received

• Selective excellence SRM IST grant for the year 2016
•  Institute-Industry collaborative consultancy research sponsored by the State Forest Department, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (2018)

Work in progress

• Elucidating the role RFOs in chickpea
• Role of alpha-galactosidases in chickpea seeds
• Non-GM based CRISPR Cas9 mediated gene editing for crop improvement
• Metabolic Engineering for Low Nicotine Tobacco by RNAi
• DNA barcoding in Herbal Powders for Species Identification

Academic Experiences

• Visiting faculty to University of Calgary, Canada
• Lecturer, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, Loyola College, Chennai
• Senior Research Fellow in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

Other Professional experiences

• Member Board of Studies, Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University).
• Vice President, Association of Genetic Engineers, Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University) (2006 - 2012).
• Institutional Radiation Safety Officer.
• Lab In-charge (2006-2012), Genetic Engineering Lab, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University).

 Achievements and Awards:

• TATA trust travel award, 2018
• Excellence in Teaching Award 2018, Biozone Research Technologies, Pvt Ltd, Chennai
• IASc Teacher Fellowship, 2017
• Best Teaching Faculty in Genetic Engineering Award
• Vice President, Association of Genetic Engineers, Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University).
• Nominated as Radiation Safety Officer, BARC.
• Lab Incharge (2006-2012), Genetic Engineering Lab, Department of Genetic Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University)
• Lab Incharge, Radiation Lab, SRM Institute of Science and Technology (formerly known as SRM University)