North Carolina Central University

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Vijay Sivaraman

Associate Professor, Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Vijay Sivaraman is an associate professor in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences and a member of both the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) and Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute (JLC-BBRI) research institutes. Dr. Sivaraman earned his B.S. in Biology and Chemistry at the New College of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the laboratory of Dr. Lishan Su. He completed his postdoctoral work with Dr. William Goldman, also at UNC-CH.

Since August 2013, Dr. Sivaraman has been an active educator and researcher at NCCU, with active collaborations and research being performed at both BRITE and JLC-BBRI centers. Dr. Sivaraman has successfully trained several Ph.D., master’s, and undergraduate students within his research laboratory to move on to positions with RTP, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and even a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan!

The Sivaraman lab studies the immunology of lung inflammation due to a variety of insults and exposures. They work under the basic premise that our social behaviors may increase the pathology of infectious diseases upon our respiratory tracts, such that identifying mechanisms may lead to novel therapeutic development.

The laboratory has three main projects:

  1. Evaluating the role of alcohol binges and cannabis upon pulmonary exacerbation
  2. Assessing the toxicity of electronic cigarettes
  3. Investigating the role of poor air quality (PM 2.5) as a causative factor for pulmonary health disparities in Durham

Dr. Sivaraman currently carries an National Institutes of Health Support of Competitive Research (NIH SCORE) grant through the NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) studying polysubstance exposure, as well as an R25 to improve research-based education strategies at NCCU.

When not in the lab, he is an active mountain biker, rock climber and adventurer with his two kids, wife and dog!
 

Courses

BIO 2510: Introduction to Microbes and Diseases
BIOL 4610: Bioethics of Biomedical Research

Publications

Dr. Sivaraman's research interests regarding pulmonary inflammation have turned down a novel path of pulmonary disease exacerbation in the context of substance exposure. He hopes that this work will shed new light on priming effects on lung inflammation.

  1. Harris B, Mcalister A, Willoughby T, and Sivaraman V, 2019. Alcohol-Dependent Pulmonary Inflammation: A Role for HMGB-1. Alcohol. 80:45-52. PMCID: PMC6443509
  2. Sivaraman V, Parker D, Zhang R, Jones M, and Onyenwoke R. 2021. Vaping Exacerbates Coronavirus-Related Pulmonary Infection in a Murine Model. Frontiers in Physiology. 12: 634839. PMCID: PMC8143436
  3. Zhang R, Jones M, Parker D, Donsife RE, Wymer N, Onyenwoke R, and Sivaraman V. 2021. Acute Vaping Exacerbates Microbial Pneumonia due to Calcium (Ca2+) Dysregulation. PLoS One. 16(8):e0256166. PMCID: PMC8360547
  4. Sivaraman V, Richey MM, Nasir ABM. 2021. Alcohol, Cannabis and Crossfading: Concerns for COVID-19 Disease Severity. Biology. 10(8):779. PMCID: PMC8389695

His interests in immunological interaction with microbes led him to focus on cellular interactions of Yersinia pestis within the lung, as well as the role these interactions play on inflammation and disease. He worked closely with his colleague Dr. Pechous to develop a method for characterizing early cellular interaction of Y. pestis with host immune cells within the lung and their contributions to pneumonia. These studies led to more in-depth analysis of Y. pestis interactions with alveolar macrophages, as well as a novel means of evasion of host immune signaling by this highly virulent pathogen.

  1. Pechous, R, Sivaraman, V, Stasulli, N, Price, P and Goldman, W.E. 2013. Early host targets Yersinia pestis during primary pneumonic plague. PLoS Pathogens. 9(10):e1003679. PMCID: PMC3789773
  2. Sivaraman, V, Pechous, R, Stasulli, N, Miao, E, and Goldman, W.E.2015. Yersinia pestis activates both IL-1b and IL-1 Receptor Antagonist to modulate lung inflammation during pneumonic plague. PLoS Pathogens. 11(3):e1004688. PMCID: PMC4363893
  3. Pechous, R, Sivaraman, V and Goldman, W.E. 2016. Pneumonic Plague: The Darker Side of Yersinia pestis. Trends in Microbiology 3:190-7: PMID: 26698952

His research interests in viral immunology and translational sciences have led to novel work regarding HPV detection and cervical cancer.

  1. Kienka, T, Varga, MG, Caves, J, Smith, JS, and Sivaraman, V. 2018. Epstein-Barr virus, not human cytomegalovirus, is associated with human papillomavirus-associated cervical lesions among women in North Carolina. J Med Virol. 91(3):450-6. PMCID: PMC6331249
  2. De Marais, A, Zhao, Y, Hobbs, M, Sivaraman, V, Brewer, NT, Smith, JSS. 2018. Home Self-Collection by Mail to Test For Human Papillomavirus and Sexually Transmitted Infections Obstet Gynecol. 132(6):1412-20. PMCID: PMC6249061
  3. Rohner, E, Rahangdale, L, Sanusi, B, Knittel, A, Vaughan, L, Chesko, K, Faherty, B, Tulenko, S, Schmitt, JW, Romocki, L, Sivaraman, V, Nelson, J, and Smith JSS. 2020. Test Accuracy of Human Papillomavirus in Urine for Detection of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia” J Clin Microbiol. 58(3): e01443-19. PMCID: PMC7041584

At the cusp of the discovery of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, Dr. Sivaraman took particular interest in their roles in viral infections. He aided in the isolation and purification of these cells, for work with Kaposi Sarcoma virus, and performed his own work studying HIV-1 infection. This work contributed to knowledge regarding Type 1 Interferon induction by pDC cells and resulting CD4+ T cell depletion, in a thymic organ model of infection.

  1. West, J, Gregory, S, Sivaraman, V, Su, L and Damania, B. 2011. Activation of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells by Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus. Journal of Virology. 85: 895-904 PMCID: PMC3020034.
  2. Sivaraman, V, Zhang, L, and Su, L. 2011. Type 1 interferon contributes to HIV-1 induced CD4+ T cell depletion in human thymus. Journal of Virology, 85: 9243-6. PMCID: PMC3165786
  3. Reszka-Blanco NJ, Sivaraman V, Zhang L, Su L. 2015. HIV-1 Env and Nef Cooperatively Contribute to Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Activation via CD4-Dependent Mechanisms. Journal of Virology. 89(15): 7604-11. PMCID: PMC4505645

View Complete Bibliography

Grants

1SC2GM144188-01 (Sivaraman-PI) 9/1/2022–8/2025
Project Title: Pulmonary Dysfunction after Polysubstance Exposure: Mechanistic Identification of Inflammatory Mediators
Role: Principal Investigator (PI)

1R25GM1305280-A1 (Kelly-PI) 7/1/2020–6/30/2024
Project Title: MBLEMS: Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory Education Modules
Role: Project PI

NIH/NIDA: SCORE 2 Award for Polysubstance Abuse
NIH/NIGMS: R25 for IPERT: Improving Laboratory-based Education with MBLEMS