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Diana Roopchand, Assistant Professor

Education

Ph. D. 1998-2005 Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
B. Sc. 1994-1997 Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Professional Experience

2015-2016 Assistant Research Professor, Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
2014-2015 Research Associate, Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
2012-2013 Research Assistant, Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
2010-Present Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor, Nutrasorb LLC.
2009-2012 National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers University & NIH Botanical Research Center / T32 Program.
2008-2009 Director of R & D, RĀDIX BioResearch, LLC.
2006-2008 Scientific Affairs Coordinator, RĀDIX BioResearch, LLC.
2005-2006 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
2000-2004 Teaching Assistant and Undergraduate Project Supervisor, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
1998-2005 Graduate Student, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
1997-1998 Research Associate, Pharmacology, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

Academic Awards

2013 Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award, Phytochemical Society of North America, USA.
2009-2012 Ruth Kirschstein-NRSA T32 Research Training Fellowship, NIH, USA.
2003-2004 Internal Studentship Award, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
2001-2003 Doctoral Research Award, FRSQ-FCAR Santé, Québec, Canada.
2000-2001 Internal Studentship Award, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
1997 Industrial Undergraduate Research Award, NSERC, Canada.

Grant Awards

2016-2019 K01 NIH/NCCAM ($422,247). Title: Interactions of dietary polyphenols, gut microbiota and intestinal epithelium. Goal: To provide mechanistic insight into how dietary polyphenols confer resilience to chronic disease. Principal Investigator.
2016-2017 2 P50 AT002776-11S03 NIH/NCCAM ($30,000). Title: Do grape polyphenols improve metabolic function in db/db mice via the gut-to-peripheral organ axis? Principal Investigator.
2015-2020 R01 NIH/NCCAM ($2,307,081). Title: Health promoting effects of high-polyphenol foods may be mediated through gut microbiome. Goal: To investigate how poorly bioavailable dietary polyphenols from fruits and vegetables lower the risk of chronic diseases. Co-Investigator.
2011-2012 P50 AT002776 NIH/NCCAM ($20,000). Title: Investigation of the bioaccessibility and antidiabetic efficacy of a natural, low sugar, protein-rich soy-based functional food ingredient containing concentrated grape polyphenols. Goal: To test the in vivo efficacy of grape polyphenol-enriched soy flour in metabolic syndrome animal model as well as the in vitro bioaccessibility. Principal Investigator.

Publications and Patent Applications

  • Book Chapters

    • Rojo, L. E., D. Roopchand, B. Graf, D. Cheng, D. Ribnicky, and I. Raskin. Role of anthocyanins in skin aging and UV-induced skin damage. In: Anthocyanins in Health and Disease. T. C. Wallace (ed.), CRC Press, ISBN 9781439894712, 2013.

    • Roopchand, D., L. E. Rojo, D. Ribnicky, and I. Raskin. Anthocyanins in the Prevention of Metabolic Syndrome and Type-2 Diabetes. In: Anthocyanins in Health and Disease. T. C. Wallace (ed.), CRC Press, ISBN 9781439894712, 2013.

     

  • Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

    1. Cheng, D. M., Roopchand, D. E., Poulev, A., Kuhn, P., Armas-Gutierez, I., Johnson, W. D., Oren, A., Ribnicky, D., Zelzion, E., Bhattacharya, D., Raskin, I. High phenolics Rutgers Scarlet Lettuce improves glucose metabolism in high fat diet-induced obese mice. Mol. Nutr. Food Res., Vol. 60, No. 11, pp. 2367-2378, 2016.

    2. D. E. Roopchand, R. N. Carmody, P. Kuhn, K. Moskal, P. Rojas-Silva, P. J. Turnbaugh, and I. Raskin. Dietary polyphenols promote growth of the gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila and attenuate high fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Diabetes, Vol. 64, No. 8, pp. 2847-2858, 2015.

    3. D. M. Ribnicky, D. E. Roopchand, A. Poulev, P. Kuhn, A. Oren, W. T. Cefalu, I. Raskin. Artemisia dracunculus L. polyphenols complexed to soy protein show enhanced bioavailability and hypoglycemic activity in C57BL/6 mice. Nutrition, Vol. 30, No. 7-8, Supplement, pp. S4-S10, 2014.

    4. Ribnicky, D. M., Roopchand, D. E., Oren, A., Grace, M., Poulev, A., Lila, M. A., Havenaar, R., and I. Raskin. Effects of a high fat meal matrix and protein complexation on the bioaccessibility of blueberry anthocyanins using the TNO gastrointestinal model (TIM-1). Food Chemistry, Vol. 142, No. 1, pp. 349-357, 2014.

    5. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Krueger, C. G., Moskal, K., Lila, M. A., and I. Raskin. Concord Grape Pomace Polyphenols Complexed to Soy Protein Isolate Are Stable and Hypoglycemic in Diabetic Mice. J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 61, No. 47, pp. 11428-11433, 2013.

    6. Grace, M., Guzman, I., Roopchand, D., Moskal, K., Cheng, D., Pogrebnyak, N., Raskin, I., Howell, A., and M. A. Lila. Stable binding of alternative protein-enriched food matrices with concentrated cranberry bioflavonoids for functional food applications. J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 61, No. 28, pp. 6856-6864, 2013.

    7. Diana E. Roopchand, Christian G. Krueger, Kristin Moskal, Bertold Fridlender, Mary Ann Lila, & Ilya Raskin. Food-compatible method for the efficient extraction and stabilization of cranberry pomace polyphenols. Food Chemistry, Vol. 141, No. 4, pp. 3664-3669, 2013.

    8. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Rojo, L. E., Lila, M. A. and Raskin, I. Blueberry polyphenol-enriched soybean flour reduces hyperglycemia, body weight gain and serum cholesterol in mice. Pharmacological Research, Vol. 68, No. 1, pp. 59-67, 2013.

    9. Roopchand, D. E., P. Kuhn, A. Poulev, A. Oren, M. A. Lila, B. Fridlender and I. Raskin. Biochemical analysis and in vivo hypoglycemic activity of a grape polyphenol-soybean flour complex. J. Agric. Food Chem., Vol. 60, No. 36, pp. 8860-8865, 2012.

    10. Roopchand, D. E., M. H. Grace, P. Kuhn, D. M. Cheng, N. Plundrich, A. Poulev, A. Howell, B. Fridlender, M. A. Lila, I. Raskin. Efficient sorption of polyphenols to soybean flour enables natural fortification of foods. Food Chemistry, Vol. 131, No. 4, pp.1193-1200, 2012.

    11. Zhiying Zhang, Melissa Z. Mui, Francine Chan, Diana E. Roopchand, Richard C. Marcellus, Paola Blanchette, Suiyang Li, Albert M. Berghuis, and Philip E. Branton. Genetic Analysis of B55α/Cdc55 Protein Phosphatase 2A Subunits: Association with the Adenovirus E4orf4 Protein. J. Virol., Vol. 85, No. 1, pp. 286-295, 2011.

    12. Melissa Z. Mui, Diana E. Roopchand, Matthew S. Gentry, Richard L. Hallberg, Jackie Vogel, and Philip E. Branton. Adenovirus Protein E4orf4 Induces Premature APCCdc20 Activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiæ by a Protein Phosphatase 2A-Dependent Mechanism. J. Virol., Vol. 84, No. 9, pp. 4798-4809, 2010.

    13. Jianmin Duan, Josie De Marte, William Paris, Diana Roopchand, Tamara L. Fleet, Jo-Anne Clarke, Siu-Hong Yeong, Alex Ferenczy, Murray Katz, Michael G. Cordingley. A novel model of HPV infection in meshed human foreskin grafts. Antiviral Research, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 179-188, 2004.

    14. Philip E. Branton & Diana E. Roopchand. The role of adenovirus E4orf4 protein in viral replication and cell killing. Oncogene, Vol. 20, No. 54, pp. 7855-7865, 2001.

    15. Diana E. Roopchand, Joseph M. Lee, Serge Shahinian, Denis Paquette, Howard Bussey & Philip E. Branton. Toxicity of human adenovirus E4orf4 protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiæ results from interactions with the Cdc55 regulatory B subunit of PP2A. Oncogene, Vol. 20, No. 38, pp. 5279-5290, 2001.

    16. Jianmin Duan, William Paris, Josie De Marte, Diana Roopchand, Tamara-Louise Fleet, Michael G. Cordingley. Topical effects of cidofovir on cutaneous rabbit warts: treatment regimen and inoculum dependence. Antiviral Research, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 135-144, 2000.

     

  • Abstracts and Presentations

    1. Roopchand D. E., Kuhn P., Krueger C. G., Moskal K., Lila M. A. and Raskin I. Concord grape pomace polyphenols complexed to soy protein isolate are stable and hypoglycemic in diabetic mice. Poster at the 6th International Conference on Polyphenols and Health. Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 2013.

    2. Roopchand D. E., Kuhn P., Krueger C. G., Moskal K. and Raskin I. Concord grape pomace polyphenols complexed to soy protein isolate are stable and hypoglycemic in diabetic mice. 52nd Annual Meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America. Oral presentation at the Arthur Neish Young Investigator Mini-Symposium, Corvallis, Oregon, August 2013.

    3. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Rojo, L., Lila, M. A., and I. Raskin. Blueberry polyphenol-enriched soybean flour reduces hyperglycemia, body weight gain and serum cholesterol in mice. Pharmaceutical Biology, Vol. 50, No. 11, pp. 1349-1350, S4-5, oral presentation at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Phytochemical Society of North America, August 11-15, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 2012.

    4. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Oren, A., Poulev, A., Ribnicky, D. Lila, M. A. & Raskin, I. Sorption of polyphenols to edible matrices enables natural fortification of foods. Oral presentation at the 5th International Conference on Polyphenols and Health. Sitges, Spain, October 2011.

    5. Rojo, L. E., Roopchand, D. E., Fridlender, B., Ribnicky, D., Poulev A., Lila, M. A. and Raskin, I. Maqui Berry Nutrasorb: Creating a natural ingredient from a Chilean Fruit. NEXOS CHILE-USA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA September 2011.

    6. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Oren, A., Poulev, A., Ribnicky, D. Lila, M. A. & Raskin, I. Bioaccessibility and efficacy of blueberry anthocyanins sorbed to protein-rich, food-based matrix. 3rd Annual TIM Symposium. New Brunswick, NJ, oral presentation, September 2011.

    7. Roopchand, D. E., Kuhn, P., Poulev, A., Oren, A., Ribnicky, D. Lila, M. A. & Raskin, I. Anti-diabetic blueberry anthocyanins can be sorbed and stabilized in a protein-rich food-based matrix. 6th International Workshop on Anthocyanins. Concord, NC, oral presentation, September 2011.

    8. Ribnicky, D. M., Poulev, A., Kuhn, P., Roopchand, D. E., Oren, A., Grace, M. H., Yousef, G. G., Havenaar, R., Lila, M. A., Cefalu, W. T., Raskin, I. Effect of carbohydrate matrices on the bioaccessibility and gastric stability of bioactive botanical compounds for metabolic syndrome using the TNO intestinal model. American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACCI), oral presentation, Palm Springs, CA October 2011.

    9. Roopchand, D. E., Mui, M., Gentry, M., Hallberg, R., Vogel, J., Branton, P. E. E4orf4 induces premature activation of APCCdc20 through a PP2A-dependent mechanism. DNA Tumour Virus Meeting, oral presentation, Cambridge, England, 2005.

    10. Roopchand, D. E., Gentry, M., Hallberg, R., Vogel, J., Branton, P. E. Activation of APCCdc20 is mediated through a PP2A-dependent mechanism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Meeting, Washington D.C., 2004.

    11. Roopchand, D. E., Brignole, C., and Branton, P. E. Analysis of Cell Cycle effects induced by adenovirus protein E4orf4 in human tumour cells and Saccharomyces cerevisiæ. Cell Cycle Meeting, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 2004.

    12. Wei, H., Hsieh, M., Roopchand, D. E., Ashby, D. G., McQuoid, M. J., Branton, P. E. and Pallas, D. C. Adenovirus E4orf4 induces cell arrest in S. cerevisiæ through Cdc55p-dependent and -independent mechanisms that do not require the formation of substantial PP2A B/A/C trimeric complex. DNA Tumour Virus Meeting. Cambridge, England, 2001.

    13. Roopchand, D. E., Lee, J. M., Shahinian, S. S., Bussey, H. and Branton, P. E. Functional analysis of adenovirus protein E4orf4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiæ. DNA Tumour Virus Meeting, oral presentation, Madison, WI, 2000.

    14. Duan, J., Paris, W., Demarte, J., Roopchand, D., Fleet, T. L. and Cordingley, M. Topical effects of cidofovir on cutaneous wart growth in rabbits infected with cottontail rabbit papilloma virus (CRPV): Treatment regimen and inoculum dependence. International Papilloma Virus Conference, North Carolina, 1999.

     

  • Patent Applications

    • Raskin I., Roopchand D., Komarnytsky S. Methods of obtaining natural products from the comestible fluids and methods of use. U. S. patent application 20130066048, March 2013.

    • Raskin I., Roopchand D. Production of enriched products. International patent application WO 2013165455 (A1), November 2013.

    • Branton P. E., Marcellus R. C., Shore G. C., Roopchand D. E., Lee J. M., Shahinian S., Bussey A. H. E4orf4 and PP2A polypeptides, modulators and mimetics for selectively inducing cell death. International patent application WO 01/04629, April 2002.