Srinivas Garlapati

Associate Professor

School of Sciences

CNSB 323

318-342-3304

Srinivas Garlapati, PhD
Associate Professor, Biology

Education

Ph D

1996, Biotechnology
Madurai Kamaraj University

MS

1989, Biotechnology
Maduarai Kamaraj Univeristy

BS

1987, Microbiology
Osmania University

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Srinivas Garlapati has been a faculty in the biology department at ULM since 2014. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco and Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Prior to joining ULM, he taught upper division biology courses at the University of California Berkeley extension, San Francisco State University and University of San Francisco.

He has a broad range of expertise and experience in working with protozoan parasites Giardia lamblia and Leishmania amazonensis. As a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco, he pioneered the research on identifying and characterizing a novel IRES element of Giardiavirus. In order to understand the molecular mechanism of IRES mediated translation in Giardia, he has identified and characterized non-cannonical translation initiation factors that bind to IRES element.

He is currently involved in understanding the molecular mechanism of translation initiation of 5’capped mRNAs with very short 5’UTRs in Giardia lamblia. As a Principle investigator on Louisiana Board Regents and LBRN- funded projects, he laid the groundwork for the proposed research by developing molecular biology techniques used for his research and for training graduate and undergraduate students.

Research Interests

Our lab studies the biology of the protozoan human parasite Giardia lamblia. It is primarily transmitted by contaminated water and causes a diarrheal disease called giardiasis. Around 2 million people are infected annually and of which most of them are children who suffer from long lasting illness. Currently available drugs to treat this debilitating disease have adverse side effects.

We are interested in elucidating the molecular mechanism of translation initiation in the parasite in order to develop parasite specific drugs. Our current projects in the lab includes identification of translation initiation factors that recruit the protein synthetic machinery to capped mRNAs with a very short 5’UTRs and screening for anti-giardial compounds in the lichen extracts.

Recent Publications

Orozco, D. R., Garlapati, S. (2020). Histone deacetylase inhibitors Induce Expression of Chromosomally Tagged Variant-Specific Surface Protein Genes in Giardia lamblia. BMC Research Notes.

Adedoja, A. N., McMahan, T., Neal, J. P., Dhakal, S. H., Joise, S., Romo, D., Hull, K., Garlapati, S. (2020). Translation initiation factors GleIF4E2 and GleIF4A can interact directly with the components of the pre-initiation complex to facilitate translation initiation in Giardia lamblia. Elsevier: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology.

Garlapati, S., Bell, D. (2016). Microbiology laboratory Manual. Southlake Texas: Fountainhead press.

Garlapati, S., Bell, D. (2015). Microbiology Laboratory Manual. Fountain Head publishers.

Research Grants

Garlapati, S. (Principal), "Mechanism of translation initiation in the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia" (Funded), Sponsored By Louisiana Biomedical Research Network, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $413,980. (May 1 2019 - April 30 2022).

Garlapati, S. (Principal), "Mechanism of translation initiation in the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia" (Awarded, Not Yet Funded), Sponsored By Louisiana Biomedical Research Network, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $70,000. (May 1 2017 - April 30 2018).

Garlapati, S. (Principal), "Mechanism of translation initiation in the protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia" (Funded), Sponsored By Louisiana Board of Regents, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $ 56,000. (July 1 2015 - May 31 2017).

Garlapati, S. (Principal), "Louisiana Biomedical Research Network" (Funded), Sponsored By NIH, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $ 27,000. (August 01 2015 - April 30 2017).

Garlapati, S. (Principal), "Louisiana Biomedical Research Network" (Funded), Sponsored By Louisiana State University/ NIH, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $ 16,892. (July 01 2015 - July 31 2015).

Awards & Honors

March 2019 Second place Graduate Student Research Poster Award.

March 2018 Second place Undegraduate Student Research Poster Award.

March 2018 First Place Graduate Student Research Poster Award.

October 2017 Best Undergraduate Research Poster Award at the American Society of Microbiology, South Central Branch Annual meeting.

October 2017 Best Graduate Research Poster Award at the American Society of Microbiology, South Central Branch Annual Meeting.

March 2017 Best Graduate Research Poster Award at the The 91st Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Academy Sciences.

March 2017 Second Place Undergraduate Student Reserach Poster Award at the ULM 17th Annual Student Reserach Sympoisum.

March 2017 First Place Graduate Student Research Poster Award at the ULM 17th Annual Student Research Symposium.

October 2016 Best Graduate Research Poster Award at the American Society of Microbiology, South Central Branch Annual Meeting.

March 2016 First Place Undegraduate Student Research Poster Award at the 16th ULM Annual Student Research Symposium.

Courses Taught

BIOL 1020PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY I, 1 course(s)

BIOL 2014INTRODUCTORY MICROBIOLOGY, 18 course(s)

BIOL 2015INTRO MICRO LABORATORY, 11 course(s)

BIOL 2018PRINCIPLES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, 5 course(s)

BIOL 4030DNA ANALYSIS IN MOLECULAR BIOL, 4 course(s)

BIOL 4060PATHOGENIC BACTERIOLOGY, 5 course(s)

BIOL 4066ADVANCED MICROBIOLOGY, 1 course(s)

BIOL 4070IMMUNOLOGY-CONC & PRINCIPLES, 4 course(s)

BIOL 4099SENIOR BIOLOGY SEMINAR, 4 course(s)

BIOL 5005RESEARCH METHODS, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5006RESEARCH METHODS LABORATORY, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5007SEMINAR, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5060MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5096SPECIAL TOPIC:CELL & MOLECULAR, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5130DNA ANALYSIS MOLECULAR BIOL, 1 course(s)

Srinivas Garlapati, PhD Associate Professor, Biology