Dr. Athira Jhonson
Post-doctoral Fellow (RUSA 2.0 )
Email: athirajohnson07@gmail.com
Dr. Athira is a Post-doctoral fellow under the RUSA 2.0 funded project in Prof. G.S. Sailaja’s team at the Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology since June 2023. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Nanomedicine from the Department of Food Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Zwe-Ling Kong. She recently joined Prof. Sailaja’s group as a Post-doctoral fellow.
Research interests
Nanoencapsulation, molecular biology, biofilms and coatings, cancer research, biochemistry, targeted drug delivery, protein engineering, tissue engineering, immunology, biomaterials, synthesis of nanoparticle for biological applications, polymer-nanocomposite for medical applications.
Previous Positions
2022- 2023 - Institute postdoctoral fellow, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
2016 - Visiting research student, Department of Food Science, College of Life science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan
Awards
2022-2023: Institute postdoctoral fellowship, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Chennai, India
2017-2021: PhD grant for young researcher by National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
2016 : Project student grant, Department of Food Science, College of Life science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Taiwan
Publications
1. Nirmala M.J, Sekar P.C., Johnson A., Kizhuveetil U., Shora S., Nagarajan R. A comprehensive review of nanoadditives in Plant-based biodiesels with a special emphasis on essential oils. Fuel 351 (2023):128934.
2. Nirmala M.J., Kizhuveetil U., Johnson A., Govind B., Nagarajan R., Muthuvijayan V. Cancer nanomedicine: a review of nano-therapeutics and challenges ahead. RSC Advances 14 (2023):8606- 8629. doi: 10.1039/d2ra07863e.
3. Johnson A., Huang Y.-C., Mao C.-F., Chen C.-K., Thomas S, Kuo H.-P., Miao S., Kong Z.-L. Protective effect of ethanolic extract of Echinacea purpurea contained nanoparticles on meniscal/ligamentous injury induced osteoarthritis in obese male rats. Scientific Reports 12 (2022):5353. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09380-w.
4. Kong Z-L, Johnson A, Ting T-L, Cheng P-J, Mao C-F. Protective Effects of Echinacea purpurea Ethanol Extract on Male Reproductive Dysfunction in Obese Rats. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(5):2392. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11052392.
5. Johnson A., Kong F., Miao S., Thomas S., Ansar S., Kong Z.-L. In-vitro antibacterial and antiinflammatory effects of surfactin-loaded nanoparticles for periodontitis treatment. Nanomaterials 2021 (11), 356.DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11020356
6. Kong Z.-L., Hsu Y.-T., Johnson A., Tsai T.-H., Miao S., He J.-L., Tsou D. Protective effects of Antrodia camphorata extract against hypoxic cell injury and ischemic stroke brain damage. Phytotherapy Research 2020 (2020), 1–12. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6928.
7. Johnson A., Kong F., Miao S., Lin H.-T. V., Thomas S., Huang, Y.-C., Kong Z.-L. Therapeutic effects of antibiotics loaded cellulose nanofiber and κ-carrageenan oligosaccharide composite hydrogels for periodontitis treatment. Scientific Reports 10 (2020), 18037. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74845-9.
8. Johnson A., He J.-L, Kong F., Huang Y.-C, Thomas S., Lin H.-T. V., Kong Z.-L. Surfactin-loaded ĸcarrageenan oligosaccharides entangled cellulose nanofibers as a versatile vehicle against periodontal pathogens. International Journal of Nanomedicine. 15 (2020), 4021-4047. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S238476.
9. Johnson A., Cheng, S.-C., Tsou, D., Kong Z.-L. Attenuation of reproductive dysfunction in diabetic male rats with timber cultured Antrodia cinnamomea ethanol extract, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy 112 (2019), 108684. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2019.108684.
10. Mao C.-F., Zhang X.R., Johnson A., He J.-L., Kong Z.-L. Modulation of diabetes mellitus-induced male rat reproductive dysfunction with micro-nanoencapsulated Echinacea purpurea ethanol extract, BioMed Research International 2018 (2018) 4237354. DOI:10.1155/2018/4237354.
11. Sudirman S., Hsu Y.-H., Johnson A., Tsou D., Kong Z.-L. Amelioration effects of nanoencapsulated triterpenoids from petri dish-cultured Antrodia cinnamomea on reproductive function of diabetic male rats. International Journal of Nanomedicine 13 (2018), 5059-5073. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S172906.
12. Kong Z.-L, Kuo H.-P., Johnson A., Wu L.-C., Chang K.L.B. Curcumin-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles markedly enhanced cytotoxicity in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 20(2019), 2918. DOI:10.3390/ijms20122918.
13. Kong Z.-L., Johnson A., Ko F.-C., He J.-L., Cheng S.-C. Effect of Cistanche Tubulosa extracts on male reproductive function in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats. Nutrients 10 (2018):1562. DOI:10.3390/nu10101562.
Chapters
1. Karthika M., Shaji N., Johnson A., Neelakandan M.S., Gopakumar D., Thomas S. (2020). Biodegradation of Green Polymeric Composites Materials. In Bio Monomers for Green Polymeric Composite Materials (eds P. Visakh, O. Bayraktar and G. Menon). DOI: 10.1002/9781119301714.ch7.
2. Reghunadhan A., Johnson A., Ajitha A.R. (2021) Elasticity, Strength, and Biocompatibility of Hydrogels. In: Jose J., Thomas S., Thakur V.K. (eds) Nano Hydrogels. Gels Horizons: From Science to Smart Materials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7138-1_12.
3. Johnson A., Neelakandan M.S., Jose J., Thomas S., Kalarikkal N. (2021). Cellulose and chitin nanofibers: potential applications on wound healing. In book: Biomedical Composites, Perspectives and Applications. Springer Singapore. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-33-4753-3_6.
List of Presentations to Internationally Established Conferences
1. Current trends on food processing, safety, and nutrition (online conference 2020, oral) of conference Food Society of Modern International Lifestyle Organization, Japan.
2. Taiwan Association of Food Science and Technology, Taiwan (2019), Taichung National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan (Poster).
3. 4 th International Conference on Nanostructured Materials and Nanocomposites (ICNM), 10th -12th February 2017, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India (Poster).
4. International Conference on Nanostructured Polymeric Materials and Polymer Nanocomposites (ICNPM 2015), 13th -15th November 2015, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India (Participation).
5. 29th National Symposium on Plasma Science and Technology & International Conference on Plasma & Nanotechnology, 8 th -11th December 2014, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India (Participation).