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Rita Mulherkar, Ph.D.
Chairman and Professor 
 
Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai, India
Mulherkar Lab
Khanolkar Shodhika, Tata Memorial Centre, Kharghar
Navi Mumbai - 410 210   
Maharashtra   
 
E-mail: rmulherkar@actrec.gov.in
Phone: +91-22-27405044
Fax: +91-22-27405085
 
URL: http://actrec.gov.in/pi-webpages/RitaMulherkar/rita-index.html
 
Positions Held:
Position Affiliation Time Period
Scientific Officer H Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai, India 2009
Scientific Officer Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer, Tata Memorial Centre 2004-2009
Scientific Officer F Cancer Research Institute, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer 1999-2004
Scientific Officer E Cancer Research Institute, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer 1994-1999
Scientific Officer Cancer Research Institute, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer 1989-1994
Scientific Officer C Cancer Research Institute, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer 1983-1989
Scientific Officer Cancer Research Institute, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer 1981-1983
 
Area of Specialization:
Oncology
Research Summary:
Genetic predisposition to tobacco-related head and neck cancers; association of low penetrance genes with environment in canc
Gene Therapy for Head and Neck cancers
Gene Therapy for Head and Neck cancers Genomics of cervical cancer: Search for Biomarkers
 
Publications:
1.Das, P., Thomas, A., Mahantshetty, U., Shrivastava, S. K., Deodhar, K. and Mulherkar, R.  HPV genotyping and site of viral integration in cervical cancers in Indian women. PloS One. 2012.  7, e41012. [PubMed]
1. Noronha, V., Prabhash, K., Thavamani, A., Chougule, A., Purandare, N., Joshi, A., Sharma, R., Desai, S., Jambekar, N., Dutt, A. and Mulherkar, R.  EGFR mutations in Indian lung cancer patients: clinical correlation and outcome to EGFR targeted therapy. PloS One. 2013.  8, e61561. [PubMed]
2. Hussain, T., Kotnis, A., Sarin, R. and Mulherkar, R.  Genetic susceptibility to multiple primary neoplasms in the upper aero-digestive tract: genotype score and phenotype correlation. Cancer Letters. 2013.  332, 46-54. [PubMed]
3. Chandrashekhar, C., Pons, B., Muller, C. D., Tounsi, N., Mulherkar, R. and Zuber, G.  Oligobenzylethylenimine enriches linear polyethylenimine with a pH-sensitive membrane-disruptive property and leads to enhanced gene delivery activity. Acta Biomaterialia. 2013.  9, 4985-4993. [PubMed]
4. Hussain, T., Kotnis, A., Sarin, R. and Mulherkar, R.  Establishment & characterization of lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients with multiple primary neoplasms in the upper aero-digestive tract & healthy individuals. The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2012.  135, 820-829. [PubMed]
5. Das, P., Thomas, A., Mahantshetty, U., Shrivastava, S. K., Deodhar, K. and Mulherkar, R.  HPV genotyping and site of viral integration in cervical cancers in Indian women. PloS One. 2012.  7, e41012. [PubMed]
6. Kotnis, A., Namkung, J., Kannan, S., Jayakrupakar, N., Park, T., Sarin, R. and Mulherkar, R.  Multiple pathway-based genetic variations associated with tobacco related multiple primary neoplasms. PloS One. 2012.  7, e30013. [PubMed]
7. Kothari, V. and Mulherkar, R.  Inhibition of cyclin D1 by shRNA is associated with enhanced sensitivity to conventional therapies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Anticancer Research. 2012.  32, 121-128. [PubMed]
8. Srivastava, D., Joshi, G., Somasundaram, K. and Mulherkar, R.  Mode of cell death associated with adenovirus-mediated suicide gene therapy in HNSCC tumor model. Anticancer Research. 2011.  31, 3851-3857. [PubMed]
9. Date, A. A., Srivastava, D., Nagarsenker, M. S., Mulherkar, R., Panicker, L., Aswal, V., Hassan, P. A., Steiniger, F., Thamm, J. and Fahr, A.  Lecithin-based novel cationic nanocarriers (LeciPlex) I: fabrication, characterization and evaluation. Nanomedicine. 2011.  6, 1309-1325. [PubMed]
10. Shetty, O. A., Naresh, K. N., Banavali, S. D., Shet, T., Joshi, R., Qureshi, S., Mulherkar, R., Borges, A. and Desai, S. B.  Evidence for the presence of high risk human papillomavirus in retinoblastoma tissue from nonfamilial retinoblastoma in developing countries. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2012.  58, 185-190. [PubMed]
11. Ambade, A. V., Joshi, G. V. and Mulherkar, R.  Effect of suicide gene therapy in combination with immunotherapy on antitumour immune response & tumour regression in a xenograft mouse model for head & neck squamous cell carcinoma. The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2010.  132, 415-422. [PubMed]
12. Creusat, G., Rinaldi, A. S., Weiss, E., Elbaghdadi, R., Remy, J. S., Mulherkar, R. and Zuber, G.  Proton sponge trick for pH-sensitive disassembly of polyethylenimine-based siRNA delivery systems. Bioconjugate Chemistry. 2010.  21, 994-1002. [PubMed]
13. Budrukkar, A., Shahid, T., Murthy, V., Hussain, T., Mulherkar, R., Vundinti, B. R., Deshpande, M., Sengar, M., Laskar, S. G. and Agarwal, J. P.  Squamous cell carcinoma of base of tongue in a patient with Fanconi's anemia treated with radiation therapy: case report and review of literature. Head & Neck. 2010.  32, 1422-1427. [PubMed]
14. Kothari, V., Joshi, G., Nama, S., Somasundaram, K. and Mulherkar, R.  HDAC inhibitor valproic acid enhances tumor cell kill in adenovirus-HSVtk mediated suicide gene therapy in HNSCC xenograft mouse model. International Journal of Cancer. Journal International Du Cancer. 2010.  126, 733-742. [PubMed]
15. Khan, Z., Tiwari, R. P., Mulherkar, R., Sah, N. K., Prasad, G. B., Shrivastava, B. R. and Bisen, P. S.  Detection of survivin and p53 in human oral cancer: correlation with clinicopathologic findings. Head & Neck. 2009.  31, 1039-1048. [PubMed]
16. Kotnis, A., Kannan, S., Sarin, R. and Mulherkar, R.  Case-control study and meta-analysis of SULT1A1 Arg213His polymorphism for gene, ethnicity and environment interaction for cancer risk. British Journal of Cancer. 2008.  99, 1340-1347. [PubMed]
17. Guinn, B. A. and Mulherkar, R.  International progress in cancer gene therapy. Cancer Gene Therapy. 2008.  15, 765-775. [PubMed]
18. Ambade, A. and Mulherkar, R.  Adoptive T cell transfer augments IL-2 mediated tumour regression in a HNSCC xenograft nude mouse model. Cancer Letters. 2008.  272, 316-324. [PubMed]
19. Uma, R. S., Naresh, K. N., D'Cruz, A. K., Mulherkar, R. and Borges, A. M.  Metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue is associated with down-regulation of epidermal fatty acid binding protein (E-FABP). Oral Oncology. 2007.  43, 27-32. [PubMed]
20. Mulherkar R.  Biotechnology and medicine: ethical concerns. Issues in Medical Ethics. 1997.  5, 110-111. [PubMed]
21. D'cruz, A. K. and Mulherkar, R.  Optimizing treatment in head and neck cancers -- are molecular markers the answer? The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2005.  122, 196-198. [PubMed]
22. Kotnis, A., Sarin, R. and Mulherkar, R.  Genotype, phenotype and cancer: role of low penetrance genes and environment in tumour susceptibility. Journal of Biosciences. 2005.  30, 93-102. [PubMed]
23. Jhavar, S. G., Sarin, R., Chopra, S., Kotnis, A., Mulherkar, R., A'hern, R., Agarwal, J. P., Shrivastava, S. K. and Dinshaw, K. A.  Females with paired occurrence of cancers in the UADT and genital region have a higher frequency of either Glutathione S-transferase M1/T1 null genotype. Journal of Carcinogenesis. 2005.  4, 6. [PubMed]
24. Koppikar, P., deVilliers, E. M. and Mulherkar, R.  Identification of human papillomaviruses in tumors of the oral cavity in an Indian community. International Journal of Cancer. Journal International Du Cancer. 2005.  113, 946-950. [PubMed]
25. Mulherkar R.  The enigma of carcinogenesis - stroma or epithelial cells? Journal of Biosciences. 2004.  29, 133-134. [PubMed]
26. Jhavar, S., Sarin, R., Mulherkar, R., Benner, A., Agarwal, J. P. and Dinshaw, K.  Glutathione S-transferase M1 or T1 null genotype as a risk factor for developing multiple primary neoplasms in the upper aero-digestive tract, in Indian males using tobacco. Oral Oncology. 2004.  40, 84-91. [PubMed]
27. Mulherkar, R., Kirtane, B. M., Ramchandani, A., Mansukhani, N. P., Kannan, S. and Naresh, K. N.  Expression of enhancing factor/phospholipase A2 in skin results in abnormal epidermis and increased sensitivity to chemical carcinogenesis. Oncogene. 2003.  22, 1936-1944. [PubMed]
28. Kirtane, B. M. and Mulherkar, R.  Comparison of the activities of wild type and mutant enhancing factor/mouse secretory phospholipase A2 proteins. Journal of Biosciences. 2002.  27, 489-494. [PubMed]
29. Pradhan, S. A., Mulherkar, R. and Pai, P. S.  Human papilloma virus and squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. The National Medical Journal of India. 2001.  14, 284. [PubMed]
30. Papanikolaou, A., Wang, Q. S., Mulherkar, R., Bolt, A. and Rosenberg, D. W.  Expression analysis of the group IIA secretory phospholipase A(2) in mice with differential susceptibility to azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis. Carcinogenesis. 2000.  21, 133-138. [PubMed]
31. Kadam, S. and Mulherkar, R.  Enhancing activity and phospholipase A2 activity: two independent activities present in the enhancing factor molecule. The Biochemical Journal. 1999.  340 ( Pt 1), 237-243. [PubMed]
32. Cupillard, L., Mulherkar, R., Gomez, N., Kadam, S., Valentin, E., Lazdunski, M. and Lambeau, G.  Both group IB and group IIA secreted phospholipases A2 are natural ligands of the mouse 180-kDa M-type receptor. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1999.  274, 7043-7051. [PubMed]
33. Thomas, S. M., Naresh, K. N., Wagle, A. S. and Mulherkar, R.  Preclinical studies on suicide gene therapy for head/neck cancer: a novel method for evaluation of treatment efficacy. Anticancer Research. 1998.  18, 4393-4398. [PubMed]
34. Kadam, S., Deshpande, C., Coulier, F. and Mulherkar, R.  Sequence analysis of full length cDNA for enhancing factor/phospholipase A2. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology. 1998.  36, 553-558. [PubMed]
35. Mulherkar, R., Goud, A. P., Wagle, A. S., Naresh, K. N., Mahimkar, M. B., Thomas, S. M., Pradhan, S. A. and Deo, M. G.  Establishment of a human squamous cell carcinoma cell line of the upper aero-digestive tract. Cancer Letters. 1997.  118, 115-121. [PubMed]
36. Cormier, R. T., Hong, K. H., Halberg, R. B., Hawkins, T. L., Richardson, P., Mulherkar, R., Dove, W. F. and Lander, E. S.  Secretory phospholipase Pla2g2a confers resistance to intestinal tumorigenesis. Nature Genetics. 1997.  17, 88-91. [PubMed]
37. Mulherkar, R., Rao, R. S., Wagle, A. S., Patki, V. and Deo, M. G.  Enhancing factor, a Paneth cell specific protein from mouse small intestines: predicted amino acid sequence from RT-PCR amplified cDNA and its expression. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 1993.  197, 351-352. [PubMed]
38. Mulherkar, R., Rao, R. S., Wagle, A. S., Patki, V. and Deo, M. G.  Enhancing factor, a Paneth cell specific protein from mouse small intestines: predicted amino acid sequence from RT-PCR amplified cDNA and its expression. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 1993.  195, 1254-1263. [PubMed]
39. Mulherkar, R., Rao, R., Rao, L., Patki, V., Chauhan, V. S. and Deo, M. G.  Enhancing factor protein from mouse small intestines belongs to the phospholipase A2 family. FEBS Letters. 1993.  317, 263-266. [PubMed]
40. Narkar, A. A., Shah, D. H., Yadav, J., Swaroop, D. and Mulherkar, R.  Monoclonal antibodies to human thyroglobulin: evaluation of immunoreactivity. Hybridoma. 1992.  11, 803-813. [PubMed]
41. Mulherkar, R. and Coulier, F.  Overexpression of human TRK proto-oncogene into mouse cells using an inducible vector system. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 1991.  177, 90-96. [PubMed]
42. Mulherkar, R., Desai, S. J., Rao, R. S., Wagle, A. S. and Deo, M. G.  Expression of enhancing factor gene and its localization in mouse tissues. Histochemistry. 1991.  96, 367-370. [PubMed]
43. Desai, S. J., Mulherkar, R., Wagle, A. S. and Deo, M. G.  Ontogeny of enhancing factor in mouse intestines and skin. Histochemistry. 1991.  96, 371-374. [PubMed]
44. Chirmule, N. B., Mulherkar, R. and Deo, M. G.  Antigenic profile of ICRC bacilli with special reference to isolation of immunogenic subunit. International Archives of Allergy and Applied Immunology. 1988.  86, 19-27. [PubMed]
45. Nerurkar, V. R., Seshadri, R., Mulherkar, R., Ishwad, C. S., Lalitha, V. S. and Naik, S. N.  Receptors for epidermal growth factor and estradiol in canine mammary tumors. International Journal of Cancer. Journal International Du Cancer. 1987.  40, 230-232. [PubMed]
46. Mulherkar, R., Saraf, A., Wagle, A. and Deo, M. G.  Purification of the enhancing factor from mouse intestines. FEBS Letters. 1986.  207, 142-144. [PubMed]
47. Mulherkar, R. and Deo, M. G.  Further studies on the enhancing factor and its possible mechanism of action. Journal of Cellular Physiology. 1986.  127, 183-188. [PubMed]
48. Deo, M. G., Mulherkar, R. and Mane, S. M.  Isolation of a polypeptide that enhances cellular binding of epidermal growth factor. Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics. 1983.  20, 228-231. [PubMed]
49. Mulherkar, R., Sharma, A. and Talukder, G.  Endomitotic replication in human fibroblast cultures. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology. 1979.  17, 846-847. [PubMed]
   

 

 

 
Book Chapters:
‘Suicide gene therapy: A promising strategy for cancer gene therapy’. Ujjwala Warawdekar and Rita Mulherkar in Cancer Gene Therapy, ISBN: 978 81-308-0410-1 Editor: Masatoshi Tagawa 2010
‘Gene Therapy’ Rita Mulherkar in 9th Edition of API Text book of Medicine, Editor-in-chief Y. P. Munjal
‘Treatment of Genetic Disorders – Traditional and Gene Therapy’ Rita Mulherkar, in 8th edition of API Text Book of Medicine, Editor: S. N. Shah 2007
‘Gene Therapy’ Rita Mulherkar in 7th Edition of API Text Book of Medicine, Ed: S. N. Shah 2002
'Techniques in Cancer Research - A Laboratory Manual' NISC publications, India, M. G. Deo, R. Seshadri, R. Mulherkar, R. Mukhopadhyaya, A.N.Bhisey, 1997
 
Grant Support:
Project Title Role Funding Agency Sanction Number Sanction Date
Gene Therapy for Head/Neck Cancer using Combination therapy: Immuno-Cytokine Therapy plus Pro-drug Activation Therapy Principal Investigator Department of Biotechnology, Government of India 2005-2006
Genetic Predisposition to Multiple Primary Neoplasm (MPN) in the Upper Aero-Digestive Tract: Interaction of low penetrance Genes and Environment Principal Investigator Department of Biotechnology, Government of India 2005-2007
Therapeutic angiogenesis in rabbit hind limb ischemia model using plasmid DNA carrying human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) Principal Investigator Indian Council of Medical Research 2005-2007
Development of individual cell electroporation and standardization of individual cell protocol Principal Investigator Biotech Consortium India Limited 1998-2006
Targeted delivery of RNAi using synthetic vectors for Gene Therapy of Head and Neck squamous cell carcinoma Principal Investigator Indo-French Centre for Promotion of Advanced Research, New Delhi, India
Preclinical studies using AdV-HSVtk / GCV for Oro-Pharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and large-scale preparation of Clinical Grade Vector Principal Investigator
Gene expression profiling of cervical cancers to delineate prognostic molecular markers Principal Investigator Department of Biotechnology, Government of India 2005-2009
Expression profiling of genes involved in skin hyperplasia in transgenic mice (Tg-K14EF) expressing enhancing factor under a keratin-14 promoter Principal Investigator
DNA repair capacity and somatic mutation rate in lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients with Multiple Primary Neoplasia with at least one cancer in upper aero-digestive tract Principal Investigator

 
 
 
Education 
::
Ph.D. in Zoology, Calcutta University
Honors and Awards
::
1999, Prof. K.P.Bhargava Memorial Medal, INSA
::
1992, Dr.V.B.Kamat Award for best paper presentation by mid-level scientist at 10th Annual Convention of Indian Association for Cancer Research
Member
::
Member, Working Group for Gene Therapy, ICMR, DBT
::
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Kasiak Research Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai
::
Member, Review Committee, National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), Indian Council for Medical Research, Bhopal
::
Member, Research Area Panels (RAP) of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi
::
Member, Institute Committee-Stem Cell Research and Treatment (IC-SCRT), ACTREC, Navi Mumbai
::
Member, Cell Biology Based Therapeutic Drug Evaluation Committee, Drug Controller General of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), New Delhi
::
Member, DBT-IIT Partnership Programme, Department of Bio-Technology (DBT), Kanpur (2011-2013)
::
Chairperson, Institute Biosafety Committee (IBSC), ACTREC, Mumbai
::
Member, Institute Committee-Stem Cell Research and Treatment (IC-SCRT), Kasiak Research Private Ltd. Mumbai
  Last modified on : Dec 1, 2013
India Cancer Research Database has been developed by the Institute of Bioinformatics with funding from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.