Dr. Jaya S. Tyagi: India is a land, which from ancient times has been infused with a spirit of inquiry. Indians have initiated several pioneering and remarkable efforts in the field of Science in the past as well as during present times, which has been their unique contribution to the progress of humanity. It is with the desire to commemorate and salute this Spirit in our women scientists and also to honor their originality of thought and research that the Stree Shakti Science Samman award has been instituted.
Dr Jaya S. Tyagi is a Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Dr. Jaya S. Tyagi has made original contributions to TB research in the areas of bacterial two-component system (TCS) -mediated signaling during dormancy and development of versatile diagnostic technologies. These include the discovery of a novel dormancy drug target, DevR and the development of a small inhibitor molecule targeting DevR. She discovered the DevR-DevS signal transduction system that is required for bacterial adaptation during dormancy. Her laboratory has made fundamental contributions towards characterizing this system particularly in understanding the mechanism of DevR –mediated transcriptional activation. Novel M. tb strains have also been developed which interfere with DevR-mediated gene expression and also exhibit profound effects on bacterial virulence. In addition, a physiologically relevant cell infection model of dormancy was recently developed in which tubercle bacilli acquire dormancy phenotype within THP-1 cells. This model is being used at present and is expected to provide, for the first time, insights into interactions between dormant bacteria and host and thereby reveal potential targets for therapeutic intervention of dormant organisms. Furthermore, she has developed a diagnostic toolbox for the efficient laboratory diagnosis of pulmonary and extra pulmonary TB using highly sensitive smear microscopy, culture and PCR and antigen detection.
These contributions are published in peer-reviewed journals and several Indian and International patents to protect the intellectual property have also been awarded.
Stree Shakti is pleased to honour Dr Jaya S. Tyagi with the Stree Shakti Science Samman, 2012 for her outstanding achievements and technologies developed in TB Research.
