Academic Experts
Academic Experts
Dr. Sonam Chawla
Assistant Professor (Grade-II)
sonam.chawla@jiit.ac.in,sonam.chawla@mail.jiit.ac.in
Biography

Dr. Sonam Chawla joined Department of Biotechnology, JIIT, NOIDA in November 2019. Prior to her appointment here, she has taught at Abdul Kalam Technical University, Uttar Pradesh and Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, Delhi. Dr. Sonam completed her PhD from Defense Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), DRDO, Delhi as CSIR research fellow (CSIR JRF NET 2009). She did her MTech in Biotechnology from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, MP in 2010 and B. Tech in Biotechnology from Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, UP in 2008. She is the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's Medal in her graduation as well as post-graduation.

Research Highlights

My research group is exploring the efficacy of phyto-extracts as potential anti-aging and hypoxia-mimetic agents, employing in vitro cellular models and in vivo animal studies to elucidate their mechanistic and translational potential.

Oxygen is a participant in the maximum number of biochemical reactions. Its biological levels are tightly regulated – hypoxia and hyperoxia both have pathological consequences. During my doctoral studies, I worked with rodent models of hypobaric hypoxia (hypoxia experienced at high altitudes due to fall in atmospheric pressure) and investigated several interventions facilitating hypoxia adaptive signaling. Expanding on my expertise in hypoxia biology, I intend to investigate oxygen homeostasis in mammalian systems and its influence on the ageing process. I am also keen on developing suitable biological models to simulate ageing and investigate herbals/phyto-molecules for regulation of oxygen homeostasis.

The globally expanding base of elderly population is also susceptible to infectious diseases due to prevalent inflammaging and other co-morbidities. I am thus also keen on investigating novel and safer antimicrobials.

Areas Of Interest
  • Hypobaric hypoxia
  • Ageing
  • Natural products
  • Novel Anti-fungals
Publications
  • Chawla, S. Telomerase activators from the lens of Ayurveda: A review. Journal of Ayurveda and Holistic Medicine (JAHM), 2025, 13(6), 105-117.
  • Kaur B, Kumar N, Chawla S, Sharma D, Korpole S, Sharma R, Patel MK, Chopra K, Chaurasia OP, Saxena S. A comparative study of in-vitro and in-silico anti-candidal activity and GC-MS profiles of snow mountain garlic vs. normal garlic. J Appl Microbiol. 2022 Apr 7. DOI:10.1111/jam.15537 (Impact factor: 4.095, SCOPUS Indexed)
  • Chawla S, Rahar B, Tulswani R, Saxena S. Preventive preclinical efficacy of intravenously administered sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in strengthening hypoxia adaptive responses to acute and sub-chronic hypobaric hypoxia. Eur J Pharmacol. 2020 Mar 5; 870:172877 (Impact factor: 5.195, SCOPUS Indexed).
  • Rahar B, Chawla S, Pandey S, Bhatt AN, Saxena S. Sphingosine-1-phosphate pretreatment amends hypoxia-induced metabolic dysfunction and impairment of myogenic potential in differentiating C2C12 myoblasts by stimulating viability, calcium homeostasis and energy generation. J Physiol Sci. 2018 Mar;68(2):137-151. Impact factor: 2.781, SCOPUS Indexed).
  • Chawla S, Saxena S. Physiology of High-Altitude Acclimatization. Resonance 2014; 19(6):538-548. (SCOPUS)