Dr. Tara Sudhadevi started her research group at the Cochin University of Science and Technology holding research funding from the Department of Health Research, Government of India. Her group is interested in determining the impact of hyperoxia on brain injury and identifying treatment modalities targeting the lung-brain axis in bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Dr. Tara Sudhadevi served as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. There she investigated the molecular mechanisms of hyperoxia-induced lung and brain injury using knockout mouse models, 3D organoids, and precision-cut lung slices, focusing on oxidative stress pathways and S1P1 receptor signaling. She also explored the role of NOX4 in regulating mitochondrial function to develop targeted therapies for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, acute lung injury, and their complications. At the University of Illinois at Chicago, Tara investigated sphingolipid and NOX4 signaling pathways in various adult lung disease models including hyperoxic lung injury, pulmonary fibrosis, allergic asthma, and lung cancer, while developing novel therapeutic delivery methods for neonatal lung diseases.

Her PhD was in Stem cells and Regenerative Medicine from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical sciences and Technology where she developed innovative methods for isolating and differentiating peripheral blood and adipose-derived stem cells into neural lineages using engineered biomimetic matrices, while investigating their signaling mechanisms and regenerative potential in spinal cord injury models.

Research Interests
Stem cells and Regenerative medicine
Central Nervous system (CNS) injury and regeneration
Neonatal lung/brain injury and regeneration

Awards, Honors and professional services
1. Awarded DHR India NRI fellowship and Research Grant, 2024
2. Received ICMR- SRF fellowship, 2013
3. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)-JRF CSIR, Govt. of India, 2008
4. Eligibility for Lectureship in Indian Universities from UGC-National Eligibility Test,2007
5. Selected to train in Dr. Yamanaka’s (Nobel Laurette) lab, Kyoto University, Japan as part of CiRA-ADBS training programme, NCBS, 2018, SOM Graduate and Medical Student Research day, 2023 & 2024
6. Grant reviewer SOURCE undergraduate summer funding, 2023
7. Pediatric Academic Society Abstract/project reviewer 2023, 2024
8. Judge, SOURCE Intersections and SOM Graduate and Medical Student Research Day presentations, Case Western Reserve University, 2023 and 2024
9. Moderator, Experimental Biology 2020, San Diego, USA

Publications
1. Sudhadevi Tara, Harijith, A. Mitochondrial dysfunction in febrile illness and sepsis: no clear picture yet. Pediatric Research.2024 (commentary)
2. Ha AW, Sudhadevi T, Jafri A, Mayer C, MacFarlane PM, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia demonstrates dysregulated autotaxin/lysophosphatidic acid signaling in a neonatal mouse model. Pediatric Research. 2024 Oct 16 (coauthor)
3. Sudhadevi Tara, Annadi A, Basa P, Jafri A, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Fingolimod, a Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor Modulator Prevents Neonatal Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and subsequent Airway Remodeling in a Murine Model. Journal of Applied Physiology: Respiratory, Environmental and Exercise Physiology. 1985. 2024 Sep 12 (first and co-corresponding author)
4. Sudhadevi Tara, Harijith A. Thioredoxin: an antioxidant, a therapeutic target and a possible biomarker. Pediatric Research (commentary)
5. Sudhadevi Tara, Ackerman SJ, Jafri A, Basa P, Ha AW, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Sphingosine kinase 1 specific inhibitor PF543 reduces goblet cell metaplasia of bronchial epithelium in an acute asthma model. AJP Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. 2024 Mar 1;326(3):L377-L392 (first and co-corresponding author)
6. Sudhadevi Tara, Resmi R, Chandrababu K, Joseph J, Joseph R, John A, Abraham A. Neural Tissue Engineering with Rat Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: The Role of an Injectable, Resorbable Hydrogel Scaffold Derived from Oxidized Alginate and Gelatin. ACS Applied Bio Materials. 2023 May 15;6(5):1742-1754. (first and the corresponding author)
7. Chandrababu K, Sreelatha HV, Sudhadevi Tara, Anil A, Arumugam S, Krishnan LK. In vivo neural tissue engineering using adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells and fibrin matrix. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. 2023 Mar;46(2):262-276 (coauthor)
8. Harijith A, Basa P, Ha A, Thomas J, Jafri A, Fu P, MacFarlane PM, Raffay TM, Natarajan V, Sudhadevi T. NOX4 Mediates Epithelial Cell Death in Hyperoxic Acute Lung Injury Through Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2022;13:880878 (corresponding and senior author)
9. Thomas JM*, Sudhadevi Tara*, Basa P, Ha AW, Natarajan V, Harijith A. The Role of Sphingolipid Signaling in Oxidative Lung Injury and Pathogenesis of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022 Jan 23;23(3) (Equal first author contributor)
10. Ha AW, Bai T, Ebenezer DL, Sethi T, Sudhadevi Tara, Mangio LA, Garzon S, Pryhuber GS, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Sphingosine kinase 1 regulates lysyl oxidase through STAT3 in hyperoxia-mediated neonatal lung injury. Thorax. 2022 Jan;77(1):47-57(coauthor)
11. Sudhadevi Tara, Vijayakumar HS, Hariharan EV, Sandhyamani S, Krishnan LK. Optimizing fibrin hydrogel toward effective neural progenitor cell delivery in spinal cord injury. Biomedical Materials. 2021 Nov 19;17(1) (first author)
12. Sudhadevi Tara, Jafri A, Ha AW, Basa P, Thomas JM, Fu P, Wary K, Mehta D, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Hyperoxia-induced S1P(1) signaling reduced angiogenesis by suppression of TIE-2 leading to experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics. 2021 Sep;79(3):561-573 (first author)
13. Sudhadevi Tara, Ha AW, Harijith A. A Minimally Invasive Method for Intratracheal Instillation of Drugs in Neonatal Rodents to Treat Lung Disease. Journal of Visualized Experiments. 2021 Aug 4;(174) (first author)
14. Fu P, Ramchandran R, Sudhadevi Tara, Kumar PPK, Krishnan Y, Liu Y, Zhao Y, Parinandi NL, Harijith A, Sadoshima J, Natarajan V. NOX4 Mediates Pseudomonas aeruginosa-Induced Nuclear Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Chromatin Remodeling in Lung Epithelium. Antioxidants. 2021 Mar 17;10(3) (coauthor)
15. Huang LS, Kotha SR, Avasarala S, VanScoyk M, Winn RA, Pennathur A, Yashaswini PS, Bandela M, Salgia R, Tyurina YY, Kagan VE, Zhu X, Reddy SP, Sudhadevi Tara, Punathil-Kannan PK, Harijith A, Ramchandran R, Bikkavilli RK, Natarajan V. Lysocardiolipin acyltransferase regulates NSCLC cell proliferation and migration by modulating mitochondrial dynamics. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2020 Sep 18;295(38):13393-13406. (coauthor)
16. Ha AW*, Sudhadevi Tara*, Ebenezer DL, Fu P, Berdyshev EV, Ackerman SJ, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Neonatal therapy with PF543, a sphingosine kinase 1 inhibitor, ameliorates hyperoxia-induced airway remodeling in a murine model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. American Journal of Physiology Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology. 2020 Sep 1;319(3):L497-L512 (Equal first author contributor)
17. Ebenezer DL, Fu P, Ramchandran R, Ha AW, Putherickal V, Sudhadevi Tara, Harijith A, Schumacher F, Kleuser B, Natarajan V. S1P and plasmalogen derived fatty aldehydes in cellular signaling and functions. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2020 Jul;1865(7):158681 (coauthor)
18. Sudhadevi Tara, Ha AW, Ebenezer DL, Fu P, Putherickal V, Natarajan V, Harijith A. Advancements in understanding the role of lysophospholipids and their receptors in lung disorders including bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids. 2020 Jul;1865(7):158685 (first author)
19. Huang LS*, Sudhadevi Tara*, Fu P, Punathil-Kannan PK, Ebenezer DL, Ramchandran R, Putherickal V, Cheresh P, Zhou G, Ha AW, Harijith A, Kamp DW, Natarajan V. Sphingosine Kinase 1/S1P Signaling Contributes to Pulmonary Fibrosis by Activating Hippo/YAP Pathway and Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Lung Fibroblasts. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020 Mar 17;21(6) (Equal first author contributor)
21. Tara S, Krishnan LK. Bioengineered fibrin-based niche to direct outgrowth of circulating progenitors into neuron-like cells for potential use in cellular therapy. Journal of Neural Engineering. 2015. Jun;12(3):036011 (first author)

Patent
Patent No.426700/Indian Patent office. Application No/201641015636). Tara Sudhadevi and Lissy K Krishnan. Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology. Biomimetic fibrin gel composite injectable to spinal cord injury for prevention of immune reaction and delivery of neural progenitors

Book chapter
Contributed a chapter named ‘Unique Neonatal Cardiovascular Problems’ to the book ‘Fanaroff & Martin’s Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine’, 2023, 12ed (Elsevier publications)

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PhD Vacancy: We welcome prospective PhD students with independent fellowships (such as CSIR, UGC, DST-INSPIRE, or equivalent) who are interested in joining our research group, focusing on neonatal brain and lung injury, regeneration, and lung-brain axis research.
Interested candidates can write to chandran.tara@gmail.com

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