Akhilesh Reddy

Akhilesh Reddy
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
Chronobiology
Genetics
Pharmacology
InstitutionsFrancis Crick Institute
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Akhilesh Reddy is a British physician-scientist. He completed the MB/PhD program at the University of Cambridge where he received a PhD from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.[1] He previously was a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in Clinical Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. He is currently an associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania.[2]

Research

In 2011, Reddy's research group demonstrated the existence of circadian clocks within human red blood cells (erythrocytes).[3] Since human red blood cells lack a nucleus, and therefore DNA, the circadian clock posited by Reddy's group did not rely on the transcription and translation of DNA as its basis. The circadian clock observed in red blood cells could be interpreted as a form of biochemical or chemical clock, extending over a prolonged 24-hour timeframe.[4] Sir Christopher Dobson, a British Chemist, drew parallels between this red blood cell clock, and established short-period oscillations in chemical systems.[4]

In collaboration with the research team led by Andrew Millar in Edinburgh, Reddy's group demonstrating 24-hour oscillations that manifest in marine algae without necessitating RNA production.[5] This demonstrated circadian rhythms in higher organisms that did not require the involvement of new RNA formation.

In 2012, Reddy's research group demonstrated that redox circadian oscillations are universally present across evolutionary epochs, spanning from bacteria to humans. To show this, they used peroxiredoxin proteins, a novel molecular perspective into circadian dynamics.[6] Michael Rosbash stated this finding challenged conventional animal models that emphasized PER-CLK transcription. Rosbash underscored the emerging consideration of metabolism and peroxiredoxin hyperoxidation in the orchestration of circadian rhythms.[7]

In 2018, Reddy's team showed the link between core glucose metabolism and circadian transcriptional oscillations, as well as non-canonical circadian rhythms in clock-less fruit fly cells.[8] These findings show that there continues to be an incomplete understanding of molecular circadian rhythms in a range of organisms.[9]

Controversy

In December 2019, Reddy underwent a hearing at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal regarding alleged overpayment by both University College of London and the University of Cambridge.[10] Reddy was suspended for nine months from the medical practice in the United Kingdom; the case is subject to an appeal in the High Court, and sanctions have not yet been applied.

Awards

  • 2011: EMBO Young Investigator Award.[11]
  • 2012: Lister Prize.[12]
  • 2012: Colworth Medal.[13][14][15]
  • 2013: Academy of Medical Sciences Foulkes Foundation Medal.[16][17]
  • 2014: Elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI).[11]
  • 2014: FEBS Anniversary Prize.[18]
  • 2015: Linacre Medal and Lecture (Royal College of Physicians).[19]

References

  1. ^ "Dr Akhilesh Reddy Bio at the Lister Institute". Archived from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Akhilesh B. Reddy, MA MB BChir PhD FRCP". Perelman School of Medicine. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  3. ^ O'Neill, John S.; Reddy, Akhilesh B. (26 January 2011). "Circadian clocks in human red blood cells". Nature. 469 (7331): 498–503. Bibcode:2011Natur.469..498O. doi:10.1038/nature09702. PMC 3040566. PMID 21270888.
  4. ^ a b Dobson, Christopher M. (2014). "Dynamics and Timekeeping in Biological Systems". Annual Review of Biochemistry. 83 (1): 159–164. doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-013014-102724. PMID 24606145.
  5. ^ O'Neill, John S.; van Ooijen, Gerben; Dixon, Laura E.; Troein, Carl; Corellou, Florence; Bouget, François-Yves; Reddy, Akhilesh B.; Millar, Andrew J. (26 January 2011). "Circadian rhythms persist without transcription in a eukaryote". Nature. 469 (7331): 554–558. Bibcode:2011Natur.469..554O. doi:10.1038/nature09654. PMC 3040569. PMID 21270895.
  6. ^ Rachel S. Edgar; Edward W. Green; Yuwei Zhao; Gerben van Ooijen; Maria Olmedo; Ximing Qin; Yao Xu; Min Pan; Utham K. Valekunja; Kevin A. Feeney; Elizabeth S. Maywood; Michael H. Hastings; Nitin S. Baliga; Martha Merrow; Andrew J. Millar; Carl H. Johnson; Charalambos P. Kyriacou; John S. O'Neill; Akhilesh B. Reddy (16 May 2012). "Peroxiredoxins are conserved markers of circadian rhythms". Nature. 485 (7399): 459–464. Bibcode:2012Natur.485..459E. doi:10.1038/nature11088. PMC 3398137. PMID 22622569.
  7. ^ Rosbash, Michael (9 June 2017). "A 50-Year Personal Journey: Location, Gene Expression, and Circadian Rhythms". Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 9 (12): a032516. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a032516. ISSN 1943-0264. PMC 5710103. PMID 28600396.
  8. ^ Rey, Guillaume; Milev, Nikolay B; Valekunja, Utham K; Ch, Ratnasekhar; Ray, Sandipan; Silva Dos Santos, Mariana; Nagy, Andras D; Antrobus, Robin; MacRae, James I; Reddy, Akhilesh B (1 August 2018). "Metabolic oscillations on the circadian time scale in Drosophila cells lacking clock genes". Molecular Systems Biology. 14 (8): e8376. doi:10.15252/msb.20188376. ISSN 1744-4292. PMC 6078164. PMID 30072421.
  9. ^ Ode, Koji L; Ueda, Hiroki R (24 September 2018). "Lost in clocks: non-canonical circadian oscillation discovered in Drosophila cells". Molecular Systems Biology. 14 (9): e8567. doi:10.15252/msb.20188567. ISSN 1744-4292. PMC 6151625. PMID 30249605.
  10. ^ "Cambridge and UCL professor 'did not notice' double salaries". BBC News. 31 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "ASCI - The American Society for Clinical Investigation". the-asci.org. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  12. ^ "2012 Lister Prize for Ak Reddy". Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ Looi, Mun-Keat. "Colworth Medal for Trust Fellow". Wellcome Trust Blog. Archived from the original on 21 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015. [dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Dr Akhilesh Reddy awarded Colworth Medal". St John. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  15. ^ "The Colworth Medal". www.biochemistry.org. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Foulkes Foundation Medal " The Foulkes Foundation". foulkes-foundation.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Foulkes Foundation Medal | Academy of Medical Sciences". www.acmedsci.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  18. ^ "FEBS Anniversary Prize der GBM – Homepage der Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie e.V." gbm-online.de (in German). Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Biography | The Francis Crick Institute". The Francis Crick Institute. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.