Dr. Jomon Sebastian is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Cochin University of Science and Technology. He received his B.Tech in Biotechnology from Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Deemed University, Chennai and M.Tech in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering from University of Kerala. He obtained his PhD in Biotechnology from National Institute of Technology, Calicut. He worked as a faculty in the biotechnology department of various institutes before joining CUSAT.

Research Interests
Microtubules are cytoskeletal proteins involved in the maintenance of cell shape, cell movement, cell division, and intracellular trafficking of organelles and vesicles. Microtubules undergo a spectacular transformation into mitotic spindle apparatus, a cellular machinery necessary for the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Motor proteins interact with microtubule lattice and walk along microtubule tracks. The movement of motor proteins on the microtubule rail is essential for the segregation of chromosomes, transportation of cargoes, and oscillations of cilia/flagella. Microtubules and motor proteins are attractive cellular proteins that can be targeted to develop new diagnostic tools and treatment strategies in cancer.

Publications
1. Sebastian, J., Raghav, D., & Rathinasamy, K. (2022). MD simulation-based screening approach identified tolvaptan as a potential inhibitor of Eg5. Molecular Diversity.
2. Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2022). Cytotoxic mechanism of tioconazole involves cell cycle arrest at mitosis through inhibition of microtubule assembly. Cytotechnology, 74, 141-162.
3. Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2021). Sertaconazole induced toxicity in HeLa cells through mitotic arrest and inhibition of microtubule assembly. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 394, 1231-1249.
4. Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2020). Benserazide Perturbs Kif15‐kinesin Binding Protein Interaction with Prolonged Metaphase and Defects in Chromosomal Congression: A Study Based on in silico Modeling and Cell Culture. Molecular Informatics, 39(3), e1900035.
5. Ashraf, S. M., Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2019). Zerumbone, a cyclic sesquiterpene, exerts antimitotic activity in HeLa cells through tubulin binding and exhibits synergistic activity with vinblastine and paclitaxel. Cell Proliferation, 52(2), e12558.
6. Raghav, D., Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2018). Biochemical and Biophysical characterization of curcumin binding to human mitotic kinesin Eg5: Insights into the inhibitory mechanism of curcumin on Eg5. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 109, 1189-1208.
7. Mohan, L., Raghav, D., Ashraf, S. M., Sebastian, J., & Rathinasamy, K. (2018). Indirubin, a bis-indole alkaloid binds to tubulin and exhibits antimitotic activity against HeLa cells in synergism with vinblastine. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 105, 506-517.
8. Sebastian, J. (2017). Dihydropyrazole and dihydropyrrole structures based design of Kif15 inhibitors as novel therapeutic agents for cancer. Computational Biology and Chemistry, 68, 164-174.
9. Sebastian, J. (2016). Structure-activity relationship study reveals benzazepine derivatives of luteolin as new aldose reductase inhibitors for diabetic cataract. Current Drug Discovery Technologies, 13(3), 152-163.
10. Soumya, R. S., Reshmi, R., Jomon, S., Antu, K. A., Riya, M. P., & Raghu, K. G. (2014). Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of the antioxidant potential of vanadium encapsulated guar gum nanoparticles. Food & Function, 5(3), 535-544.
11. Salin Raj, P., Prathapan, A., Sebastian, J., Antony, A. K., Riya, M. P., Rani, M. P., Biju, H., Priya, S. & Raghu, K. G. (2014). Parmotrema tinctorum exhibits antioxidant, antiglycation and inhibitory activities against aldose reductase and carbohydrate digestive enzymes: an in vitro study. Natural Product Research, 28(18), 1480-1484.