Staff Profile

Dr. Amit Kumar Singh

Designation: Scientist E

Division/Unit: NIRT Jalma North India Campus

Email: amits[dot]hq[at]icmr[dot]gov[dot]in

Educational Qualification

B.V.Sc. & A.H.; M.V.Sc. (Animal Biotechnology); Ph.D. (Biomedical Sciences)

Personal Statement

My research is driven by the need to develop better treatment options for tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases. I focus on evaluating innovative therapeutic approaches, including host-directed therapies, mycobacteriophage-derived enzymes, and targeted drug delivery systems, using relevant preclinical models. My goal is to generate robust scientific evidence that supports the translation of promising laboratory discoveries into effective therapies. Through collaborative research, I aim to contribute to the development of safer, more effective therapies for tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.

Research Focus

a) Development of new therapeutic approaches for tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases.
b) Mycobacteriophage biology, phage-derived enzymes and other biologics for the treatment of drug-resistant mycobacterial infections.
c) Host-directed therapies to understand and modulate host responses during mycobacterial infections.
d) Drug delivery systems for pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
e) In vitro, ex vivo and animal models for studying disease pathogenesis and evaluating new therapies.

Ongoing projects as Principal investigator

Restoring adaptive immunity of foamy macrophages against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by Sphingosine -1 Phosphate in experimental model system

Significant Publications

1. Sharma M, Afghan S, Singh A, Alam I, Agarwal M, Shahid M, Atif SM, Khan S, Malik SS, Yenuganti VR and Ansari MA (2026). Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen-containing exosomes reinforce BCG vaccine efficacy by augmenting long-term protection and memory response against experimental tuberculosis in BALB-C mice. Front. Immunol. 17:1742207.

2. Jadhav K, Jhilta A, Singh R, Negi S, Singhal N, Mishra A, Singh AK*, Verma RK*. Targeted Nasal Route Delivery of Cationic Anti-TB Drug-Loaded Nano-embedded Microparticles for Mycobacterial Elimination in the CNS. Mol Pharm. 2025 Jun 2;22(6):3164-3178

3. Saha S, Roy S, Hazra A, Das D, Kumar V, Singh AK, Singh AV, Mondal R, Bose Dasgupta S. S-nitrosylation-triggered secretion of mycobacterial PknG leads to phosphorylation of SODD to prevent apoptosis of infected macrophages. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Mar 11;122(10):e2404106122

4. Raman SK, Roy T, Verma K, Yadav C, Verma S, Deivreddy VSR, Sofi HS, Bharti R, Sharma R, Bansode H, Kumar A, Sharma RK, Singh J, Mugale MN, Bajpai U, Jain V, Singh AK*, Misra A*. Dry powder Inhalation of lytic mycobacteriophages for adjunct therapy in a mouse model of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2025 May;152:102631.

5. Jadhav K, Jhilta A, Singh R, Negi S, Sharma S, Shukla R, Singh AK*, Verma RK*. Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamics of Clofazimine Nano-in-Microparticles: Enhanced Brain Delivery and CNS Tuberculosis Amelioration via Intranasal Administration. ACS Infect Dis. 2025 Mar 14;11(3):665-675.

6. Jadhav K, Jhilta A, Singh R, Sharma S, Negi S, Ahirwar K, Shukla R, Singh AK*, Verma RK*. Trans-nasal brain delivery of anti-TB drugs by methyl-β-cyclodextrin microparticles show efficient mycobacterial clearance from central nervous system. J Control Release. 2025 Feb 10;378:671-686.

7. Jhilta A, Jadhav K, Sharma R, Singh R, Negi S, Sharma N, Singh AK*, Verma RK*. Host-Directed Therapy with Inhalable Lovastatin Microspheres for Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibition in Tuberculosis. ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2025 Feb 17;8(2):1533-1546

8. Reddy DVS, Sofi HS, Roy T, Verma S, Washimkar KR, Raman SK, Singh S, Azmi L, Ray L, Singh J, Mugale MN, Singh AK, Misra A. Macrophage-targeted versus free calcitriol as host-directed adjunct therapy against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice is bacteriostatic and mitigates tissue pathology. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2024 Sep;148:102536

9. Jadhav K, Jhilta A, Singh R, Ray E, Kumar V, Yadav AB, Singh AK*, Verma RK*. Effective cerebral tuberculosis treatment via nose-to-brain transport of anti-TB drugs using mucoadhesive nano-aggregates. Nanoscale. 2024 Sep 12;16(35):16485-16499

10. Raman SK, Siva Reddy DV, Jain V, Bajpai U, Misra A, Singh AK. Mycobacteriophages: therapeutic approach for mycobacterial infections. Drug Discov Today. 2024 Jul;29(7):104049.

11. Singh AK, Gangakhedkar R, Thakur HS, Raman SK, Patil SA, Jain V. Mycobacteriophage D29 Lysin B exhibits promising anti-mycobacterial activity against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Oct 6;11(6):e0459722.