Ritwick Sawarkar

Ritwick Sawarkar is a Principal Investigator at the MRC Toxicology Unit and affiliated with the Department of Genetics under the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He leads the Sawarkar Group, focusing on molecular mechanisms linking chromatin biology, environmental stress response, and transcriptional regulation.

• Education: PhD in Genetics (Indian Institute of Science, 2010)
• Previous roles: Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH-Zürich (2010-2014), Independent Group Leader at Max Planck Institute (2014-2019)

Research Interests:
The Sawarkar Group investigates how chromatin interprets environmental stress signals to modulate transcriptional responses. Key questions include: (i) Cellular pathways sensing stress/toxins, (ii) Chromatin's role in stress adaptation, and (iii) Transcriptional mechanisms for cellular survival. Their work integrates genomics, single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, and mouse models to explore stress response pathways.

Article Trends:
Recent publications highlight his expertise in chromatin-mediated stress responses, non-coding RNA interactions, and proteostasis networks. Collaborations with pharmaceutical companies emphasize translational applications for drug toxicology and RNA therapeutics.

Scientific Awards:

• ERC Consolidator Grant (2018)
• Alfred Tissières Young Investigator Award (2019)

Group Members:
His team includes PhD students (Dimitris Aspri, Roberto Campalastri), Research Associates (Simone Baldan, Christo Christov), and MPhil students (Anfas Muhammed, Keely Xia), among others.