Souvik Maiti is interested in unusual nucleic acid structures, their biological roles in non-coding RNA and targeting these entities by chemically engineered oligonucleotides or small molecules.
Using a combination of biophysical, biochemical and molecular biology methods coupled to computational predictions, his group studies:

• RNA G quadruplexes and their influence on regulation of gene expression.
• Identification of small molecule modulators of miRNA function as potential therapeutic leads.

As part of their ongoing studies on the influence of RNA G quadruplexes on gene expression, they recently identified an unexpected augmentation of translation by a quadruplex motif in the 5' UTR of TGFB2.

As part of their efforts to develop small molecule leads for miRNA modulation, they demonstrated the potential re purposing of the well known aminoglycoside antibiotic, Streptomycin, to suppress levels of an oncogenic miRNA, miR-21.

•    Small molecule quercetin binds MALAT1 triplex and modulates its cellular function. Rakheja I, Ansari AH, Ray A, Joshi DC, Maiti S. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2022 Sep 23;30:241-256. 

•    Alternative splicing modulation mediated by G-quadruplex structures in MALAT1 lncRNA. Ghosh A, Pandey SP, Ansari AH, Sundar JS, Singh P, Khan Y, Ekka MK, Chakraborty D, Maiti S. Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Jan 11;50(1):378-396. 

•    Rapid identification and tracking of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Chakraborty D, Agrawal A, Maiti S. Lancet. 2021 Mar 22:S0140-6736(21)00470-0. 

•    Rapid and accurate nucleobase detection using FnCas9 and its application in COVID-19 diagnosis. Azhar M, Phutela R, Kumar M, Ansari AH, Rauthan R, Gulati S, Sharma N, Sinha D, Sharma S, Singh S, Acharya S, Sarkar S, Paul D, Kathpalia P, Aich M, Sehgal P, Ranjan G, Bhoyar RC; Indian CoV2 Genomics & Genetic Epidemiology (IndiCovGEN) Consortium, Singhal K, Lad H, Patra PK, Makharia G, Chandak GR, Pesala B, Chakraborty D, Maiti S. Biosens Bioelectron. 2021 Jul 1;183:113207. 

•    Fine-tuning miR-21 expression and inhibition of EMT in breast cancer cells using aromatic-neomycin derivatives.Ghosh A, Ranjan N, Jiang L, Ansari AH, Degyatoreva N, Ahluwalia S, Arya DP, Maiti S. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2021 Dec 21;27:685-698.

CSIR Young Scientist Award 2007
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, 2014
TATA Innovation Fellowship 2020
VASVIK Award for Biological Science & Technology 2021
CSIR Technology Award 2021