Dr Prasad Koka obtained his BSc degree from Osmania University in the year 1967 and started his post-graduation education in 1969 at University of Miami Coral Gables and University of MissouriColumbia upon completion of his undergraduate degree at Osmania University Hyderabad, India. He obtained a PhD degree in Dec 1977 with Biochemistry and Physical Chemistry as major and minor areas respectively from Texas Tech University. Equipped with a dissertation in biophysics / biochemistry, Dr Koka performed hands-on research in photobiology, bacteriophage, retrovirology, immunogenetics, transplantation, neuro-AIDS-dementia, and HIV using humanized SCID mice. His research then turned into stem cells with emphasis on cancer stem cells generation in vitro and in vivo and the potential role of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells in the relapse and susceptibility to therapies of cancer. For almost 25 years out of his 40 years of scientific work, his research focus to date has been on HIV/AIDS including cytopenias / hematopoiesis in HIV infection, mother to child transmission of HIV infection through the placental membrane, and currently on the identification and characterization of host cellular factors that inhibit hematopoiesis in HIV infection (even in the absence of anti-retroviral drugs that also contribute to cytopenias). He is also attempting to perform clinical trials on a safer drug for containment of HIV replication and accompanying hematological disorders and also working on cancer (stem) cell antigens – development of new fluorescence labels for novel biomarkers detection using bioinformatics. He has gained experience in retrovirology and human virology expertise from working with renowned fellows from the University of Georgia, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, and Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (San Diego). Dr Koka has been nominated as National Professor of Virology and Immunology & Visiting Scientist at Haffkine Institute (Mumbai). He has also served as Chief Scientific Director and Professor of DiponEd Institute of Regenerative Medicine in Merisis Therapeutics, DiponEd BioIntelligence LLP (Bangalore). He is currently the Head – Cancer Stem Cells Research at Global Gene Corporation, Mumbai.

Translational medicine and biomedical sciences: molecular factors, mechanisms and therapies of hematological disorders in HIV Infection and in mother to child transmission of HIV infection, pre-clinical translational humanized in vivo and in vitro model systems - NOD/SCID-hu mice (human fetal thymus/liver conjoint organ growth +/- autologous CD34+ cells engrafted), human hematopoietic stem cell (hHSC) differentiation in HIV-1 infection and in generation of cancer stem cells using these chimeric humanized mice in vivo, gene and drug therapy for rescue from hematopoietic cell dysfunction in HIV-1 Infection, safer and greater efficacy drug sulfatide (+/- poietins) for containment of HIV replication, host cellular factors in HIV-1 induced hematological disorders, placenta derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in the vertical transmission of HIV-1 infection, umbilical cord blood derived hHSCs and placenta derived hMSCs in the characterization and susceptibility of cancer stem cells to therapeutic strategies, homeostasis in cancer etiology and autoimmune disorders, cancer (stem) cell antigens – novel biomarkers detection and targeted drug delivery including nanoparticles and designing of fluorescence molecule (and their protein complexes) labeling methods of monoclonal antibodies using modeling methods of bioinformatics.