Sairam V. Rudrabhatla, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology, School of Science, Engineering, and Technology
Program Chair, Biology & Science
Director, Central Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels
Science & Tech Building, TL 176
  • Use novel methods to enhance levels of naturally occurring beneficial molecules in medicinal plants and herbs (Cannabidiol and its derivatives)
  • A New Platform for Cancer Prevention/Cure: Characterizing and Using Bioactive Compounds from Nature/Plants.
  • Use alternative growth systems to increase crop yield.
  • Introduce genes to confer disease resistance for restoration of the American chestnut in Pennsylvania.
  • Molecular Pharming: Genetic engineering of Soybean and Corn with H10N7 (avian flu vaccine) and GAD65 (Type 1 diabetes).
  • Genetic Engineering of Tomato with nutritionally enriched genes.
  • Biosafety and risk assessment of transgenic plants.
  • Biofuels 
    • Cellulosic ethanol: Genetic Engineering of Sweet Sorghum, Switchgrass and Miscanthus with cell wall degrading enzymes for efficient recovery of ethanol.
    • Biodiesel: Genetic Engineering of Jatropha, Camelina and Simarouba with (CBF) Cold binding factor and Yeast SAMDC (S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase proenzyme) genes.
    • Metabolic Engineering of Algae for High Lipid and Biodiesel Production.

Selected recent publications. See the full list of publication

Deguchi, M., Kane, S., Potlakayala, S., George, H., Proano, R., Sheri, V., Curtis, W. R., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2020). Metabolic Engineering Strategies of Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.): A Brief Review of the Advances and Challenges. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11(580621), 11.

Ogden, A. J., Bhatt, J. J., Brewer, H. M., Kintigh, J., Kariuki, S. M., Rudrabhatla, S., Adkins, J. N., & Curtis, W. R. (2020). Phloem Exudate Protein Profiles during Drought and Recovery Reveal Abiotic Stress Responses in Tomato Vasculature. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(12), 4461.

Deguchi, M., Bogush, D., Weeden, H., Spuhler, Z., Potlakayala, S., Kondo, T., Zhang, Z. J., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2020). Establishment and optimization of a hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) agroinfiltration system for gene expression and silencing studies. Scientific Reports, 10(3504), 1-11.

Soliman, M., Potlakayala, S., Millar, D., Weeden, H., Bogush, D., Deguchi, M., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2019). Comparing A Review of Heavy Metal Uptake and Their Toxicity on Plant and Human Health. International Journal of Plant, Animal and Environmental Sciences, 9, 182-189.

Husain, R., Weeden, H., Bogush, D., Deguchi, M., Soliman, M., Potlakayala, S., Katam, R., Goldman, S., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2019). Enhanced tolerance of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) plants on abandoned mine land soil leads to overexpression of cannabinoids. PlosOne, 14(8).

Soliman, M., Potlakayala, S., Desai, D., Weeden, H., Husain, R., Lookfong, N., Trite, T., Spagnola, J., Amin, S., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2019). Function of the Endocannabinoid System in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cancers. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 10(10), 1839-1854.

Shukla, V., Upadhyay, R. K., Tucker, M. L., Giovannoni, J. J., Rudrabhatla, S. V., & Mattoo, A. K. (2017). Transient regulation of three clustered tomato class-I small heat shock chaperone genes by ethylene is mediated by SIMADS-RIN transcription factor Scientific Reports, 7(6474), 12.

Morales, D., Potlakayala, S., Soliman, M., Daramola, J., Weeden, H., Jones, A., Kovak, E., Lowry, E., Patel, P., Puthiyaparambil, J., Goldman, S., & Rudrabhatla, S. (2017). Effect of Biochemical and Physiological Response to Salt Stress in Camelina sativa. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 48(7), 716-729.

Ph.D. Osmania University, Hyderabad, India

M.Sc. University of Baroda, Gujarat, India

B.Sc. Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India

BIOL 110: Biology: Basic Concepts and Biodiversity
SC 120N: Plants, Places, and People