Anitha Krishnan

Dr. Anitha Krishnan joined Aviceda Therapeutics in 2019 as Director of Research & Development. Previously she was a Staff Scientist at Harvard Medical School, Department of Ophthalmology for seven years where she managed multiple projects in different ocular diseases. She has worked extensively on neuroprotection of retinal ganglion cells using gene therapy. She has significant experience in working with a range of modalities including gene therapy (viral), small molecules and antibody approaches to target diseases.

Dr. Krishnan’s work on small molecules approach using Fas Inhibitor for ocular disease in collaboration with another company is currently in clinical trials.

Also work on Fas-FasL axis using gene therapy as a modality is currently being tested in preclinical dog models of glaucoma soon on path to an IND submission. Her in depth understanding and work on the cell signalling pathways related to Fas-FasL and also the opposing roles of soluble and membrane FasL in ocular diseases had led to multiple grants (NIH/Brightfocus Foundation/NEI)

with her Principal investigator at Mass Eye & Ear. She currently has a patent in composition of Fas inhibition for ocular diseases. Her extensive experience in identifying the role of NLPR3 inflammasome in ocular diseases is one among the many areas of focus which aligns with Aviceda’s goals. Her more recent work before joining Aviceda was co-authoring a path breaking Nature 2020 publication with Dr. David Sinclair on the reversal of aging and the restoration of vison loss by using epigenetic reprogramming using AAV approach.

She has worked on neuro-inflammation of CNS and ocular disease space for the past 13 years, with significant publications to her credit. She has studied the role of Toll like receptors in microglial cells as a key mediator in neuropathogenesis in mouse and non-human primate models. She has also played a part in identifying sCD163 a novel HIV marker in disease progression.

Dr. Krishnan received her Master’s and Ph. D in Physiology and Molecular Biology (Plants) from G. B Pant University, India and Bachelor’s (Hons) in Microbiology from Delhi University, India. She was a Post-Doctoral fellow at University of Minnesota Medical Centre and Boston College before joining Harvard. She has published in high tier journals viz., Nature, J of Neuroscience, J of immunology, J of Infectious diseases, and Plos Pathogens.