Dr. Ismail has a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Hyderabad and Ph.D in Biochemistry from Osmania University, Hyderabad. She received post-doctoral training at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and University of Miami, FL, USA. She is a Research Supervisor in the disciplines of Biochemistry and Nutrition at the Osmania University, Hyderabad, India.
The focus of her research is in two major areas. The Non-Classical functions of Vitamin D in the body. Vitamin D is now known to play an important role in many tissues/organs not involved in calcium homeostasis. Newer functions of this vitamin are being unraveled each year. In recent years, Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be rampant across the world including India. Currently, her group is trying to understand the biochemical and molecular mechanism(s) that play a role during vitamin D deficiency in tissues such as muscle, heart, adipose tissue and brain.
Another area of her interest is the role of diet in cancer. Dietary ingredients contain phytochemicals a.k.a ‘nutraceuticals’, which act through multiple molecular targets and help in the prevention or treatment of cancer. Currently, work is in progress to decipher the potential anticancer role of few dietary ingredients using in vitro and in vivo models for breast and prostate cancer. The research work in her lab is funded by DBT, DST and ICMR.

1. Srividya Gopalakrishnan, Mahamaya Dhaware, Athira Anilkumar Sudharma, Surekha Venkata Mullapudi, Siva Ramakrishna Siginam, Ramesh Gogulothu, Irfan Ahmad Mir, Ayesha Ismail . Chemopreventive effect of cinnamon and its bioactive compounds in a rat model of premalignant prostate carcinogenesis. Cancer Prevention Research, 2023, 16(3):139–151. (PMID: 36517462)
2. Pandarinath Savitikadi, Ramesh Gogulothu, Ayesha Ismail , G. Bhanuprakash Reddy, V. Sudhakar Reddy. Combined prenatal to postnatal protein restriction augments protein quality control processes and proteolysis in the muscle of rat offspring. J Nutr Biochem, 114, 2023 (PMID:36681307)
3. Gopalakrishnan S, Ismail A. Aromatic monophenols from cinnamon bark act as proteasome inhibitors by upregulating ER stress, suppressing FoxM1 expression and inducing apoptosis in prostate cancer cells. Phytotherapy Research, DOI: 10.1002/ptr.7236; Vol 35(10), p5781-5794, 2021 (PMID: 34363252)
4. Gogulothu R, Nagar D, Gopalakrishnan S, Garlapati VR, Kallamadi PR, Ismail A. Disrupted expression of genes essential for skeletal muscle fibre integrity and energy metabolism in Vitamin D deficient rats. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2019; 197:105525. (PMID: 31705962)
5. Reddy VS, Palika R, Ismail A, Pullakhandam R, Reddy GB. Nutrigenomics: Opportunities & challenges for public health nutrition. Indian J Med Res. 2018; 148(5):632-641. (PMID: 30666988)
6. Gopalakrishnan S, Ediga HH, Reddy SS, Reddy GB, Ismail A. Procyanidin-B2 enriched fraction of cinnamon acts as a proteasome inhibitor and anti-proliferative agent in human prostate cancer cells. IUBMB Life, 70(5), 445-457; 2018 (PMID:29537730)
7. Ashok Reddy, P. Uday Kumar, M. Srinivasulu, B. Triveni, K. Sharada, Ayesha Ismail and G. Bhanuprakash Reddy. Overexpression and enhanced specific activity of aldoketo reductases (AKR1B1 & AKR1B10) in human breast cancers. The Breast, 31, 137-143; 2017 (PMID:27855345)
8. Ayesha I, Bindu N, Ramesh G, Shyam P, Ajumeera R, Suresh K. Cytotoxicity and proteasome inhibition by alkaloid extract from Murraya koenigii leaves in breast cancer cells - molecular docking studies. J Med Food, 19(12), 1155-1165; 2016 (PMID:27982755)
9. Noolu B, Gogulothu R, Bhat M, Qadri SS, Reddy VS, Reddy GB, Ismail A. In Vivo Inhibition of Proteasome Activity and Tumor Growth by Murraya koenigii Leaf Extract in Breast Cancer Xenografts and by its active flavonoids in breast cancer cells. Anticancer Agents Med Chem, 16(12), 1605-1614, 2016 (PMID:27198988)
10. Shafi Syed, Suresh Kumar Chettu,   Rajesh BM,  Gajendrasinh Balvantsinh Raolji,   korupolu Raghu Babu,  S. Kameswara Rao,   Srividya Gopalakrishnan,  Ayesha Ismail and   G. Bhanuprakash Reddy.  First total Synthesis of Cyclodepsipeptides Clavatustide A, B and their enantiomers. Royal Society Chemistry Adv, 6, 61555-61565; 2016
11. Bindu Noolu and Ayesha Ismail . Anti-proliferative and proteasome inhibitory activity of Murraya koenigii leaf extract in human cancer cell lines. Disc Phytomed; 2(1): 1-9, 2015
12. Mehrajuddin Bhat and Ayesha Ismail . Vitamin D treatment protects against and reverses oxidative stress induced muscle proteolysis. J Ster Biochem Mol Biol, 152: 171-179, 2015 (PMID:26047554)
13. Bhat M, Noolu B, Qadri SS, Ismail A. Vitamin D deficiency decreases adiposity in rats and causes altered expression of uncoupling proteins and steroid receptor coactivator3. J Ster Biochem Mol Biol, 144B: 304-312; 2014 (PMID:25132457)
14. Mehrajuddin Bhat, Ramesh Kalam, Syed SYH Qadri, Seshacharyulu M and Ayesha Ismail . Vitamin D deficiency induced muscle wasting occurs through the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and is partially corrected by calcium in male rats. Endocrinology; 154(11), 4018-4028, 2013. (PMID:23928374)
15. Bindu Noolu, Rajanna Ajumeera, Anitha Chauhan, Balakrishna Nagalla, Raghunath Manchala and Ayesha Ismail . Murraya koenegii leaf extract inhibits proteasome activity and induces cell death in breast cancer cells. BMC Complement & Altern Med, 2013: (PMID:23302496)
16. Ayesha Ismail , Bindu Noolu, Shulagna Sharma, Chandana Madakasira, Mehrajuddin Bhat and Raghunath Manchala. Proteasome Inhibitory potential of commonly consumed dietary ingredients. Int J Food Nutr Sci, 1(2); 27-31, 2012.
17. IJN Padmavathi, K Rajender Rao, Lagishetty Venu, Manisha Ganeshan, K Anand Kumar, Ch Narasimha Rao, Nemani Harishankar, Ayesha Ismail and Manchala Raghunath. Chronic maternal dietary chromium restriction modulates visceral adiposity: probable underlying mechanisms. Diabetes, 59, 98-104, 2010. (PMID:19846803)
18. Inagadapa J.N. Padmavathi, Kalashikam Rajender Rao, Lagishetty Venu, Ayesha Ismail and Manchala Raghunath. Maternal dietary chromium restriction alters muscle development and function in the offspring. Exptl Biol and Med, 235, 349-355, 2010. (PMID:20404053)
19. Obaid Y. Khan, Guilian Fu, Ayesha Ismail , Sathish Srinivasan, Xuni Cao, Yaping Tu, Shan Lu and Zafar Nawaz. Multifunction steroid receptor coactivator, E6-associated protein, E6-AP is involved in development of the prostate gland. Mol Endocrinol, 20(3), 544-559, 2006. (PMID:16254014)
20. Sarath C. Dhananjayan, Sivapriya Ramamoorthy, Obaid Y. Khan, Ayesha Ismail , Jun Sun, Joyce Slingerland, Bert W’O Malley and Zafar Nawaz. WW-domain binding protein-2 (WBP-2), an E6AP interacting protein, acts as a coactivator for estrogen and progesterone receptors. Mol Endocrinol, 20(10): 2343-2354, 2006. (PMID:16772533)
21. Ayesha Ismail and Zafar Nawaz. Nuclear hormone receptor degradation and gene transcription: An update. Review. IUBMB Life, 57(7), 483-490, 2005. (PMID: 16081369)
22. Sarath C. Dhananjayan, Ayesha Ismail and Zafar Nawaz. Ubiquitin and control of transcription. Review, Essays Biochem 41: 69-81, 2005. (PMID: 16250898)
23. Seema Verma*, Ayesha Ismail *, Xiuhua Gao, Guilian Fu, Xiaotao Li, Bert W.O’Malley, Zafar Nawaz. Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzyme, UBCH7 acts as a coactivator for steroid hormone receptors. Mol Cell Biol, 24 (19): 8716-8726, 2004. *Equal Contribution (PMID:15367689)
24. Ayesha Ismail , Cuong V Nguyen, Ago Ahene, James C Fleet, Milan R Uskokovic and Sara Peleg. Effect of Cellular Environment on the Selective Activation of the Vitamin D Receptor by 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and its Analog Ro-26-9228. Mol Endocrinol, 18(4): 874-887, 2004. (PMID:14726489)