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Rina Saksena, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Lucknow, India

2009-2012, Research Fellow, Laboratory of polysaccharides, FDA

2000-2009, Research Fellow, Carbohydrate section, NIH NIDDK 

 

Education and Training

B.Sc. Chemistry, University of Lucknow, India

Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Lucknow, India 

        Research Topic: ‘Isolation and Stereoselective Synthesis of Milk Oligosaccharides as Immunostimulants and Tumor-Associated Antigens’ 

2000-2009, Research Fellow, Carbohydrate section, NIH NIDDK (Supervisor: Dr. Paul Kovac, Chief, Carbohydrate Section)

        Research Topic: Development of synthetic vaccines from synthetic oligosaccharides 

2009-2012, Research Fellow, Laboratory of polysaccharides, FDA (Dr. Willie F. Vann, Chief, Lab of Bacterial Polysaccharides)

        Research Topic: Synthesis and characterization of protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines for Neisseria meningitidis 

2017-present, Research Assistant Professor, Cui lab, UNM

        Research Topic: Chemoenzymatic synthesis of heparanase substrates

Publications

  1. McCarthy, P., Saksena, R., Peterson, D.W., Lee, C-H., An, Y., Cipollo, F., Vann, W.F., ‘Chemoenzymatic synthesis of Immuno-genic meningococcal group C polycyclic acid- tetanus Hc fragment glycoconjugates.,Glycoconj., J., Aug. 16 2013 [Epub ahead of print] PMD 23949787.

  2. Jahouh, F., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., Banoub, J., ‘Revealing the glycation sites in synthetic neoglycoconjugates formed by conjugation of the antigenic monosaccharide hapten of vibrio cholerae O1, serotype ogawa with the BSA protein carrier using LC-ESI-OqTOF- MS/MS’, J. Mass Spectrom., 47 (2012) 890-900.

  3. Arifurraman, M., Kalsy, A., Alam, M. M., Bhuiyan, M. S., Charles, R. C., Leung, D. T., Harris, J. B., LaRocque, R. C., Bongat, A. F., Saksena, R., Clements, J. D., Calderwood, S. B., Qadri, F., Vann, W. F.,Kovac, P., Ryan, E. T., ‘Transcutaneous immunization with a bivalent cholera hexasaccharide (Inaba, Ogawa) neoglycoconjugates protects against vibrio cholerae O1 challenge in mice primed with oral cholera vaccine’., Clin. Vacc. Immunol., 19 (2012) 594-602.

  4. Tarique, A. A., Kalsy, A., Arifurraman, M., Rollins, S., Charles , R. C.,Leung, D. T., Harris, J. B., LaRoque, R. C., Sheikh, A., Bhuiyan, M. S., Saksena, R., Clements, J. D., Calderwood, S. B., Qadri, F., Kovac, P., Ryan, E. T., ‘Transcutaneousimmunization with a neoglycoconjugate made from the synthetic hexasaccharide of vibrio cholerae O1 (Ogawa) LPS boosts vibriocidal responses and induce protective immunity in mice’, Clin. Vacc. Immunol. 19 (2012) 594-602.

  5. Jahouh, F., Saksena, R., Aiello, D., Napoli, A., Sindona, G., Kovac, P., Banoub, J. H., ‘Glycation sites in neoglycoconjugates from the terminal monosaccharide antigen of the O-PS of vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa, and BSA revealed by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization tandem mass spectrometry’, J. Mass Spectrom., 45 (2010) 1148- 1159.

  6. Mosley, S. L., Rancy, P.C., Peterson, D. C., Vionnet, J., Saksena, R., Vann, W.F., ‘Chemoenzymatic synthesis of conjugatable oligosialic acids’, Biocatalyis & Biotransformation, 28 (1), (2010), 41-50.

  7. Parameswar, A., R., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., Nahm, Moon H., Demchenko, A., V. ‘Synthesis, conjugation and immunological evaluation of the serogroup 6 pneumococcal oligosaccharides’, ChemBioChem., 10 (2009) 2893-2899.

  8. Kuehn, A., Kovac, P., Saksena, R., Banner, N., Klee, S., Ranisch, H., Grunow, R., 'Development of antibodies against anthrose-tetrasaccharide for specific detection of B. anthracis spores’, Clinical and Vaccine Immunolgy, 16 (2009) 1728-1737.

  9. Rollenhagen, J. E., Kalsy, A., Saksena, R., Sheikh, A., Alam, M. M., Qadri, F., Calderwood, S. B., Wade, W. F. Kovac, P., Ryan, E. T., ‘Transcutaneous immunization with a synthetic hexasaccharide-protein conjugate induces anti-vibrio cholera lipopolysaccharide responses in mice’, Vaccine, 27 (2009) 4917-4922.

  10. Parthasarathy, N., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., DeShazer, D., Peacock, S. J., Wuthiekanun, V., Heine, H. S., Friedlander, A. M., Cote, C. K., Welkos, S. L., Adamovicz, J. J., Bavari, S., Waag, D. M., ‘Application of Carbohydrate microarray technology for the detection of Burkholderia pseudomallei, Bacillus anthracis and Francisella tularensis antibodies’, Carbohydr. Res., 343 (2008) 2783-2788.

  11. Saksena, R., Chernyak, A., Kovac, P., ‘Synthesis of spacer-equipped di-, tri- and the tetrasaccharide fragments of the deacetylated O-PS1 of Citobacter gillenii O9a, 9b and a related pentasaccharide’, Carbohydr. Res., 343 (2008) 1693-1706.

  12. Hou, S.-j, Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Preparation of glycoconjugates by dialkyl squarate chemistry revisited’, Carbohydr. Res., 343 (2008) 196-210.  Ruttens, B., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Synthesis of Polyphosphorylated, Conjugation-Ready Di-, Tri- and Tetrasaccharide fragments of the O-specific Polysaccharide of V. cholerae O139’, Eur. J. Org. Chem., (2007) 4366-4377.

  13. Wade, T. K., Saksena, R., Shiloach, J., Kovac, P., Wade, W. F., ‘Immunogenicity of synthetic saccharide fragments of vibrio cholerae O1 (Ogawa and Inaba) bound to Endotoxin A’, FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 48 (2006) 237-251.

  14. Wang, D., Carroll, G. T., Turro, N. J., Koberstein, J. T., Kovac, P., Saksena, R., Adamo, R.,Herzenberg, L. A., Herzenberg, L. A., Steinman, L., ‘Photogenerated glycan arrays identify immunogenic sugar moieties of Bacillus anthracis exosporium’, Proteomics, 7 (2007) 180-184.

  15. Saksena, R., Adamo, R., Kovac, P., ‘Immunogens related to the synthetic tetrasaccharide side chain of the Bacillus anthracis exosporium’, Bioorg. Med. Chem., 15 (2007) 4283- 4310.

  16. Saksena, R., Ma, X., Wade, T. K., Kovac, P., Wade, W. F., ‘Length of the linker and the interval between immunizations influences efficacy of vibrio cholerae O1, Ogawa hexasaccharide neoglycoconjugates’, FEMS, 47 (2006) 116-128.

  17. Adamo, R., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Studies towards a conjugate vaccine for Anthrax. Synthesis of the tetrasaccharide side chain of the Bacillus anthracis exosporium’, Helv. Chim. Acta, 89 (2006) 1075-1089.

  18. Adamo, R., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Synthesis of the tetrasaccharide side chain of the major glycoprotein of the Bacillus anthracis exosporium’, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Let., 16 (2006) 615-617.

  19. Saksena, R., Ma, X., Wade, T. K., Kovac, P., Wade, W. F., ‘Effect of saccharide length on the immunogenicity of neoglycoconjugates from synthetic fragments of the O-SP of vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa’, Carbohydr. Res., 340 (2005) 2256-2269.

  20. Adamo, R., Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Synthesis of the -anomer of the spacer-equipped tetrasaccharide side chain of the major glycoprotein of the Bacillus anthracis exosporium’, Carbohydr. Res., 340, (2005) 2579-2582.

  21. Saksena, R., Adamo, R., Kovac, P., ‘Studies towards a conjugate vaccine for Anthrax. Synthesis and characterization of anthrose [4,6-Dideoxy-4-(3-Hydroxy-3- Methylbutanamido)-2-O-Methyl-D-Glucopyranose] and its methyl glycosides’, Carbohydr. Res., 340, (2005) 1591-1600.

  22. Meeks, M. D., Saksena, R., Ma, X., Wade, T. K., Taylor, R. K., Kovac, P., Wade, W. F., ‘ Synthetic fragments of vibrio cholerae O1 Inaba O-SP bound to a protein carrier are immunogenic in mice but do not induce protective antibodies’, Infection and Immunity, 72 (2004) 4090-4101.

  23. Saksena, R., Ma, X., Hoehn, G., Kovac, P., ‘Controlled conjugation of synthetic vibrio cholerae O1 antigens yields series of immunogens with predetermined carbohydrate- protein ratios’, Glycobiology, 13 (2003) 879.

  24. Saksena, R., Ma, X., Kovac, P., ‘One pot preparation of glycoconjugates with predetermined antigen-carrier ratio from oligosaccharides that mimic the O-PS or vibrio cholerae O1, serotype Ogawa’, Carbohydr., Res., 338 (2003) 2591-2693.

  25. Ma, X., Saksena, R., Chernyak, A., Kovac, P., ‘Neoglycoconjugates from synthetic tetra- and hexasaccharides that mimic the terminus of the O-PS of vibrio cholerae O1 , serotype Inaba, Org. Biomol. Bhem., 1 (2003) 775-784.

  26. Saksena, R., Kovac, P., ‘Synthesis of 2-(Trimethylsilyl)ethyl--D-Mannopyranosides revisited’, J. Carbohydr. Chem., 12 (2002) 453-470.

  27. Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Rathore, R. S., Khare, A., ‘Milk oligosaccharides as immunostimulants & antitumor agents’, Trends in carbohydrate chemistry, Surya Publications, 4 (1999) 33-38.

  28. Sigler, P., Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A., ‘Structural studies of trisaccharide segment of Ornonine’, Trends in carbohydrate chemistry, Surya Publications, 4 (1999) 11-15.

  29. Sigler, P., Srivastava, S., Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A., ‘Structural studies of disaccharides of 2,6-dideoxy sugars present in Denicunine and Heminine’, Trends in carbohydrate chemistry, Surya Publications, 4 (1999) 17-23.

  30. Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A., ‘Synthesis of fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides and their analogs’, Trends in carbohydrate chemistry, Surya Publications, 3 (1997) 19- 36.

  31. Srivastav, S., Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, N., Khare, A., ‘Stereoselective synthesis of disaccharides corresponding to antigenic factor 9 of 8 candida guilliermondii suitable for chain extension’, Trends in carbohydrate chemistry, Surya Publications, 4 (1999) 51-53.

  32. Sigler, P., Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A.,’C-21 Steroidal glycosides from Hemidesmus indicus’, Phytochemistry, 54 (8) (2000) 983-987.

  33. Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A., ’Synthesis of disaccharides related to human milk of antigenic properties’, Indian Journal of Chemistry, 38 (1999) 795-799.

  34. Saksena, R., Deepak, D., Khare, A., Sahai, R., Tripathi, L. M., Srivastava, V. M. L.,’A novel pentasaccharide from immunostimulant oligosaccharide fraction of buffalo milk’, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1428 (1999) 433-445.

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