Dr Taranjit Singh Rai has more than 10 years of research experience in the field of ageing, cancer and ageing associated diseases. Taranjit has a PhD from PGIMER, Chandigarh, India and Post Doctoral training at the Beatson Institute of Cancer Research, Glasgow. Taranjit has won several awards for outstanding research and teaching such as young scientist and UWS STARS Award. Taranjit has been educated in entrepreneurship at Babson College, Boston, USA where he finished a Saltire foundation fellowship programme, which is a condensed MBA style entrepreneurial course. Taranjit has published more than 25 collaborative papers in high impact peer-reviewed journals (h-index of 19 and >1500 citations) such as Genes and Development, Nucleic Acids Research, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Genetics etc. He has presented his research at various national and international conferences and is a keen public speaker. His work has been highlighted in national and international newspapers and in the mainstream media (BBC).

Taranjit is interested in the role of cellular senescence in health and disease. Senescent cells accumulate in tissues of humans and other organisms with age. Cellular senescence is thought to promote cell and tissue ageing. Clearance of senescent cells from tissues of model organisms has been shown to be beneficial in multiple ageing diseases such as cardiovascular, osteoarthritis and more recently in Alzheimer’s. Taranjit is interested in utilizing novel senescence signatures to predict patient outcomes, risk stratification and personalized medicine. Taranjit’s group is using various senescence model systems to test compounds for their ability to eliminate/kill senescent cells. Such compounds are called senolytics. The laboratory utilizes artificial intelligence, machine learning tools and collaborates with mathematicians, programmers and bioinformaticians to predict the vulnerabilities of senescent cells with hope of finding new therapeutic drugs.

2020
Deep learning in systems medicine. Wang H, Guillot EP, Comte B, de Miranda JL, Spiwok V, Chorbev I, Castiglione F, Tieri P, Watterson S, McAllister R, Malaquias TM, Rai TS, Zheng H. Briefings in Bioinformatics 2020.

2019
The histone chaperone HIRA promotes the induction of host innate immune defences in response to HSV-1 infection. McFarlane S, Orr A, Roberts APE, Conn KL, Iliev V, Loney C, da Silva Filipe A, Smollett K, Gu Q, Robertson N, Adams PD, Rai TS, Boutell C. PLoS Pathogens 2019.

2017
Histone chaperone HIRA deposits histone H3.3 onto foreign viral DNA and contributes to anti-viral intrinsic immunity. Rai TS*, Glass M, Cole JJ, Rather MI, Marsden M, Neilson M, Humphreys I, Everett R, Adams PD*, Nucleic Acids Research 2017 (In press) *Co corresponding author. *Interview on this paper by BBC TV Scotland on 11th October 2017 (Reporting Scotland programme). *Also reported in all major national and international media.

Oncogene-Expressing Senescent Melanocytes Upregulate Mhc Class Ii, A Candidate Melanoma Suppressor Function. Van Tuyn J, Hijazi FJ, MacKenzie D, Cole JJ, Mann E, Pawlikowski JS, Rai TS, Nelson DM, McBryan T, Ivanov A, Blyth K, Wu H, Milling S, Adams PD. Journal of Investigative Dermatology July 2017.

2016
Mapping H4K20me3 onto the chromatin landscape of senescent cells indicates a function in control of cell senescence and tumor suppression through preservation of genetic and epigenetic stability. Nelson DM, Hijazi FJ, Cole JJ, Robertson NA, Pawlikowski JS, Norris KT, Criscione SW, Pchelintsev NA, Piscitello D, Stong N, Rai TS, McBryan T, Otte GL, Nixon C, Clark W, Riethman H, Wu H, Schotta G, Garcia BA, Neretti N, Baird DM, Berger SL and Adams PD. Genome Biology 2016, 17:158.

ChIP-Sequencing to Map the Epigenome of Senescent Cells Using Benzonase Endonuclease. Rai TS* and Adams PD. Methods in Enzymology Feb 2016. *Co corresponding author.

MLL1 is essential for the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Capell BC, Drake AM, Zhu J, Shah PP, Dou Z, Dorsey J, Simola DF, Donahue G, Sammons M, Rai TS, Natale C, Ridky TW, Adams PD, Berger SL. Genes and Development. 2016 Feb 1;30(3):321-36.

2015
Ubinuclein-1 confers histone H3.3-specific-binding by the HIRA histone chaperone complex. Ricketts DM, Frederick B, Hoff H, Tang Y, Schultz DC, Rai TS, Grazia Vizioli M, Adams PD, Marmorstein R. Nature Communications. 2015 Jul 10;6:7711.

2014
HIRA orchestrates non-canonical dynamic chromatin in senescence and is required for suppression of neoplasia. Rai TS*, Cole JC, Nelson DM, Dikovskaya D, McBryan T, Faller W, Tuyn Jv, Morrice N, Hewitt RN, Manoharan I, Pchelintsev NA, Ivanov A, Brock C, Drotar ME, Nixon C, Clark W, Sansom OJ, King A, Blyth K, Adams PD* Genes and Development 2014 Dec 15; 28(24): 2712-25. *Co corresponding author. *Interview on this paper by BBC radio Scotland on December 15th (Good morning Scotland programme). *Also reported in all major national and international media. *Title featured on the cover of Genes and Development in the same issue. *Recognized as progress of the year by CR UK in their spring 2015 newsletter.

2013
p53 status determines the role of autophagy in pancreatic tumour development. Rosenfeldt MT, O'Prey J, Morton JP, Nixon C, MacKay G, Mrowinska A, Au A, Rai TS, Zheng L, Ridgway R, Adams PD, Anderson KI, Gottlieb E, Sansom OJ, Ryan KM. Nature. 2013 Dec 12; 504(7479):296-300.

Senescent cells harbour features of the cancer epigenome. Cruickshanks HA, McBryan T, Nelson DM, Vanderkraats ND, Shah PP, van Tuyn J, Rai TS, Brock C, Donahue G, Dunican DS, Drotar ME, Meehan RR, Edwards JR, Berger SL, Adams PD. Nature Cell Biology 2013 Dec; 15(12):1495-506

Lamin B1 Depletion in Senescent Cells Leads to Large-Scale Changes in the Chromatin Landscape. Shah PP, Donahue G, Otte G, Capell B, Nelson DM, Cao K, Aggarwala V, Cruickshanks HA, Rai TS, McBryan B, Gregory BD, Adams PD, Berger SL. Genes and Development 2013 Aug 15; 27(16): 1787-99.

Lysosome-mediated processing of chromatin in senescent cells. Ivanov A, Pawlikowski J, Manoharan I, Rai TS, Nelson DM, Shah P, Wu H, Berger SL, Adams PD. Journal of Cell Biology 2013 July 8th.

Placing the HIRA histone chaperone complex in the chromatin landscape. Pchelintsev NA, McBryan T, Rai TS, van Tuyn J, Ray-Gallet D, Almouzni GA, Adams PD. Cell Reports 2013 Apr17.

Sprouty2, PTEN, and PP2A interact to regulate prostate cancer progression. Patel R, Gao M, Ahmad I, Fleming J, Singh LB, Rai TS, McKie AB, Seywright M, Barnetson RJ, Edwards J, Sansom OJ, Leung HY. J Clin Invest. 2013 Mar 1;123(3):1157-75.

2012
Identification of an ubinuclein 1 region required for stability and function of the human HIRA/UBN1/CABIN1/ASF1a histone H3.3 chaperone complex. Tang Y, Puri A, Ricketts MD, Rai TS, Hoffmann J, Hoi E, Adams PD, Schultz DC, Marmorstein R. Biochemistry. 2012 Mar 27;51(12):2366-77.

2011
Human CABIN1 is a functional member of the human HIRA/UBN1/ASF1a histone H3.3 chaperone complex. *Rai TS, Puri A, McBryan T, Hoffman J, Tang Y, Pchelintsev NA, van Tuyn J, Marmorstein R, Schultz DC, Adams PD. Mol Cell Biol. 2011 Oct;31(19):4107-18. *“Spotlight” section as an article of significant interest selected from this Issue by the Editors entitled:Holy Quartet: CABIN1 Is a Functional Member of the HUCA Complex.

2010
Decreased myocardial expression of dystrophin and titin mRNA and protein in dilated cardiomyopathy: possibly an adverse effect of TNF-alpha. Ahmad S, Rai TS, Khullar M, Bahl A, Saikia UN, Thungapathra M, Kumar RM, Mahajan R, Talwar KK. J Clin Immunol. 2010 Jul;30(4):520-30.

2009
Genetic and clinical profile of Indian patients of idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopahty with and without hypertrophy Rai TS*, Ahmad S, Ahluwalia TS, Ahuja M, Bahl A, Saikia UN, Singh B, Talwar KK, Khullar M. Mol Cell Biochem. 2009 Nov; 331(1-2):187-92. *First study to show that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) can originate from the same mutation, challenging the dogma that HCM and RCM are genetically different.

Common variants of inflammatory cytokine genes are associated with risk of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes among Asian Indians. Ahluwalia TS, Khullar M, Ahuja M, Kohli HS, Bhansali A, Mohan V, Venkatesan R, Rai TS, Sud K, Singal PK. PLoS One. 2009;4(4):e5168.

A common MYBPC3 (cardiac myosin binding protein C) variant associated with cardiomyopathies in South Asia.Dhandapany PS, Sadayappan S, Xue Y, Powell GT, Rani DS, Nallari P, Rai TS, Khullar M, Soares P, Bahl A, Tharkan JM, Vaideeswar P, Rathinavel A, Narasimhan C, Ayapati DR, Ayub Q, Mehdi SQ, Oppenheimer S, Richards MB, Price AL, Patterson N, Reich D, Singh L, Tyler-Smith C, Thangaraj K. Nature Genetics 2009 Feb;41(2):187-91.

ACE Variants Interact with the RAS Pathway to Confer Risk and Protection against Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy. Ahluwalia TS, Ahuja M, Rai TS, Kohli HS, Bhansali A, Sud K, Khullar M. DNA Cell Biol. 2009 Mar;28(3):141-50.

Circulating proinflammatory cytokines and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide significantly decrease with recovery of left ventricular function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Ahmad S, Otaal PS, Rai TS, Bahl A, Saikia UN, Manoj RK, Thungapathra M, Talwar KK, Khullar M. Mol Cell Biochem. 2009 Apr;324(1-2):139-45.

Genotype phenotype correlations of cardiac beta-myosin heavy chain mutations in Indian patients with hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy. Rai TS, Ahmad S, Bahl A, Ahuja M, Ahluwalia TS, Singh B, Talwar KK, Khullar M. Mol Cell Biochem. 2009 Jan;321(1-2):189-96.

2008
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene haplotypes and diabetic nephropathy among Asian Indians. Ahluwalia TS, Ahuja M, Rai TS, Kohli HS, Sud K, Bhansali A, Khullar M. Mol Cell Biochem. 2008 Jul;314(1-2):9-17.

Synergistic effect between apolipoprotein E and apolipoprotein A1 gene polymorphisms in the risk for coronary artery disease. Rai TS, Khullar M, Sehrawat BS, Ahuja M, Sharma PK, Vijayvergiya R, Grover A. Mol Cell Biochem. 2008 Jun;313(1-2):139-46.

ACE I/D polymorphism in Indian patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and dilated Cardiomyopathy. Rai TS, Dhandapany PS, Ahluwalia TS, Bhardwaj M, Bahl A, Talwar KK, Nair K, Rathinavel A, Khullar M. Mol Cell Biochem. 2008 Apr; 311(1-2):67-72.

BOOK CHAPTERS/REVIEWS
Khullar M and Rai TS (2006). Genetics of Metabolic syndrome. In Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors. Editors Bajaj JS and Talwar KK. Ann Natl Acad Med Sci (India), 42 (Suppl.): 33-44; 2006.

Lessons from senescence: Chromatin maintenance in non-proliferating cells. Rai TS, Adams PD. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012 Mar;1819(3-4):322-31.

Cellular senescence in osteoarthritis pathology. McCulloch K, Litherland GJ, Rai TS*. Aging Cell 2017. *Corresponding author. 

BMSRI COVID-19 research recovery fund (PI). Ulster University £11,893
Northern Ireland Multimorbidity Research and Discovery (NIMRAD) (Co-PI). National Institute for Health Research. £117,076 (2020-2021).
Senescence biomarkers for predicting risk in Covid-19 patients (PI). HSC R and D department. £197,396 (2021-2022).
COVRES: Understanding the Host-Virus Response in Patients with Mild versus Serious Disease (co-PI). Science Foundation Ireland. £354,637 (2020-2021).
Establishment of in vitro senescence model for atrial fibrillation using atria specific cardiomyocytes (PI). PHA R and D division: £53000 (2020-2022).
AvantiCell Studentship (PI): Alessandra Prinelli, Company SME: £7,293, 2016-2019.
Academic partner of ACS Ltd (EuroNeurotrophin): MSCA-ITN-2017 (EUR 3 555 758.88).
Saltire Fellowship: Saltire Foundation/UWS, £42,300, 2015-2016.
Avanticell Studentship (PI): Florian Gruber, Company SME: £6,600, 2015-2018.
Carnegie Project grant: Role of HUC in Oncogene Induced Senescence, £1050, 2014.
IBEHR start up grant: £10,000, 2014.
ICMR Senior Research Fellowship: Rs 364,500, 2006-2008.
Department of Biotechnology travel grant: Rs 38,514, 2007.
CMC trust, Chandigarh travel grant: Rs 5000, 2006. 

Christopher Page - Improving the screening and diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia
Guangran Guo - Targeting senescence as a therapy for atrial fibrillation

PhD supervisor: 3 students (2014-ongoing). 1 graduated 2020.
Carnegie Project Supervisor: 2014 (1 student 2014).
Erasmus supervisor: (2 students in 2013).
Honors project supervisor: (>20 students 2013-ongoing). 

Module Coordinator 
Genetic Inheritance and Genetic Variation in human disease, University of Ulster 2020-ongoing (30 students).
Pharmacology, University of Ulster 2019-ongoing (30 students).
Disease and Treatment, University of Ulster 2018-2019 (18 students).
Human Biology, University of the West of Scotland 2014-2015 (>150 students).
Cells and Disease, University of the West of Scotland, 2017-2018 (30 students).

Teacher (Nursing modules) 
Care of Vulnerable People: Nervous system and its disorders, 2014-2018 (>2000 students taught over 4 UWS campuses).
Foundations of Life and Social Sciences: All major body systems, Diseases and Pharmacology, 2017-2018 (>1000 students taught over 4 UWS campuses).