Pavithra Vivekanand
Professor of Biology
Department Head of Biology
Education
PHD, Wesleyan University
BS, Madras University
About Me
I grew up in Chennai, India. I always enjoyed Biology and excelled in it. But I knew that I did not want to pursue a career in Medicine or in Engineering, which were typically careers coveted by most students in India. Plus, my family had plenty of doctors and engineers and so I was aware of what these careers entailed. I remember reading Mutation by Robin Cook in middle school and becoming fascinated with Genetics and Genetic Engineering at a young age. While I realized that the scenario outlined in the book was purely science fiction and improbable, I knew that I wanted to be involved in biological research. So, I decided to apply to Ph.D. programs in the U.S. with the goal of pursuing a career in Biomedical or Pharmaceutical research.
While teaching at an undergraduate liberal arts institution was not what I had originally envisioned when I was applying to graduate schools, halfway through my Ph.D, I realized that I wanted to be in academia, but more specifically in an academic environment that cherished faculty-student interactions in the classroom and the research laboratory. I wanted to be at an institution where teaching was the focal point and not a distant second to research. Some of my most rewarding experience as a faculty member have been the close interactions I have had with students while mentoring and working with them on research projects.
Outside the classroom, I enjoy reading and like nothing more than curling up with a good book. I also enjoy cooking, especially baking, love watching tennis (my bucket list is to attend all 4 grand slam tournaments), and listening to classic rock.
Professional Experience
体育买球 University, Selinsgrove, PA
- Professor, Department of Biology August 2025-
- Associate Professor, Department of Biology August 2020-July 2025
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biology August 2016-July 2020
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Biology August 2012-July 2016
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Biology July 2011-June 2012
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
- Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Biology July 2007-June 2010
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, Ben May Cancer Institute January 2005-May 2007
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, April 2003-Dec. 2004et.
Academic and Research Appointments
The research interests in my lab are to investigate the biological effects of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles can be synthesized using either traditional chemical reagents or using plant derived extracts to act as reducing agents. My students synthesize and characterize gold nanoparticles in collaboration with Dr. Swarna Basu and his students in the chemistry department.
Immune Projects
Our goal is to determine whether gold nanoparticles synthesized using plant products such as leaf extracts from the Ginkgo bilbo plant or pomegranate juicecan modulate the immune response. While an acute inflammatory response is critical to mount an effective immune response to an infection, chronic and inappropriate inflammation has been implicated in several human diseases. My research students use the THP-1 cell line, a human monocytic cell line that was obtained from a male patient with acute monocytic leukemia. THP-1 cells are first differentiated into macrophages and then exposed to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to mimic an infection with gram negative bacteria. LPS treatment activates signaling by TLR4 and results in production of small signaling molecules called pro-inflammatory cytokines by macrophages. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines activates the innate immune system by effecting a variety of systemic and local changes to mobilize macrophages to fight the infection.
Anti-Cancer Projects
We recently demonstrated that gold nanoparticles synthesized using a variety of plant extracts, such as lemongrass and green tea have both cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects on cervical and melanoma cancer cells. Our current work in this area is to examine whether we can alter the size and shape of gold nanoparticles by adjusting the pH during the synthesis of the nanoparticles and how these changes might impact their ability to induce the death of melanoma cells.
Published Works
* SU undergraduate authors
- Mariano N*., Wolf H*., Vivekanand P. Isoginkgetin exerts apoptotic effects on A375 melanoma cells. micropublication Biology (2024).
- Duncan J.B*., Basu S., Vivekanand P. Honey gold nanoparticles attenuate the secretion of IL-6 by LPS-activated macrophages. PLoS One (2023).
- Vivekanand P. Isoform specific knockdown of the ETS transcription factor Pointed in Drosophila S2 cells. micropublication Biology (2023).
- Dickson J*., Weaver B*., Vivekanand P., Basu S. Anti-neoplastic effects of gold nanoparticles synthesized using green sources on cervical and melanoma cancer cell lines. BioNanoScience (2023).
- Follmer M*., Shrawder B*., Eckert K*., Heinly B*., Vivekanand P. The effectiveness of EGFR knockdown by RNAi lines varies depending on the tissue. micropublication Biology (2022).
- Castner E*., Dickson M*., Mykytyn A*., Seeram N., Henry G., Vivekanand P. Synthesis and evaluation of apoptotic induction of human cancer cells by ester derivatives of thujone. Medicinal Chemistry Research (2020) 29, 268–280.
- Vivekanand P. Lessons from Drosophila Pointed, an ETS family transcription factor and key nuclear effector of the RTK signaling pathway. Genesis (2018),
- Bartoletti R*., Capozzoli B*., Moore J*., Moran J*., Shrawder B*., Vivekanand P. Short hairpin RNA is more effective than long hairpin RNA in eliciting pointed loss-of-function phenotypes in Drosophila. Genesis (2017).