Faculty at School of Natural Sciences

Colin Jamora

Colin Jamora

Senior Professor and Head of Department

School of Natural Sciences


Contact Information

Wound healing and related diseases
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  • 1995 – 2000          PhD Biology. University of California, San Diego (Advisor: Dr. Vivek  Malhotra)
  • 1989 – 1993          B.S., Biological Sciences. University of California, Davis. 

  • 2018 – present             Professor and Laboratory Director, IFOM-inStem Joint Research Laboratory, Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore, India
  • 2016 – present             Scientific Advisor, Unilever R&D (Bangalore, India)
  • 2015 – present             Scientific Advisor, Aeon Biotherapeutics Inc. (Taiwan, ROC)
  • 2013 – present             Coordinator, Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Homeostasis, inStem.
  • 2012 – 2018                Associate Professor and Laboratory Director, IFOM-inStem Joint Research Laboratory, Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore, India
  • 2012 – 2014                Research Associate, Department of Bioengineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California, San Diego
  • 2011 – 2012                Adjunct Associate Professor, Division of Dermatology/Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego
  • 2006 – 2011                Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Dermatology/Department of Medicine. University of California, San Diego
  • 2006 – 2012                UCSD Cell and Molecular Genetics Training Program
  • 2005 – 2012                Member, UCSD/Moores Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • 2004 – 2012                Assistant Professor, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology/Division of Biological Sciences. University of California, San Diego

  • 2021 – 2024                PLoS Biology Academic Editor
  • 2021 – present             Member, Scientific Advisory Committee. Therapy Resistance and Stem Cell Biology Group, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Mumbai India
  • 2018 – 2021                Editorial Board Member, Tissue Barriers
  • 2012                            American Society for Cell Biology MAC Travel Award
  • 2012                            Keystone Symposium Early Career Investigator Travel Award
  • 2011                            UC San Diego Academic Senate Travel Award
  • 2009 - 2010                 Hellman Faculty Fellow.  Awarded to “faculty members at the Assistant Professor rank who exhibit the potential for great academic distinction”
  • 2009                            Chair of Epidermal Biology Session, Montagna Symposium
  • 2008 – 2012                American Cancer Society Research Scholar
  • 2007 – 2009                Ad hoc reviewer for NIH grants (ACTS Study Section)
  • 2006                            Visiting Professor, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • 2006 – 2008                Research Career Development Award, Dermatology Foundation
  • 2006                            UC San Diego Academic Senate Travel Award
  • 2001-2004                   Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 2000-2001                   Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 1998                            ASCB Predoctoral Travel Award
  • 1997-1998                   US Department of Education GAANN Fellowship
  • 1995-1997                   San Diego Fellowship

  • Rana, I., Kataria, S., Tan, T-L., Hajam, E.Y., Kashyap, D.K., Saha, D., Ajnabi, J., Paul, S., Jayappa, S., Ananthan, A.|S., Kumar, P., Zaarour, R.F., Haarshaadri, J., Kansagara, G., Rizvi, A., Zirmire, R.K., Badarinath, K., Khedkar, S.U., Chandra, Y., Samuel, R., George, R., Danda, D., Jacob, P.M., Dey, R., Dhandapany , P.S., He, Y-W., Varga, J., Varghese, S., Jamora, C. (2023) Mindin is essential for cutaneous fibrogenesis in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis. J of Investigative Dermatology 143, 699-710.e10
  • Zaarour, R. F., Saha, D., Dey, R., Dutta, A., Kumar, P., Rana, I., Pulianmackal, A., Rizvi, A., Misra, N., Breton, L., and Jamora, C. (2022) The neuropeptide Substance P facilitates the transition from an inflammatory to proliferation phase-associated responses in dermal fibroblasts. Exp Dermatol 31, 1188-1201
  • Sobecki, M., Chen, J., Krzywinska, E., Nagarajan, S., Fan, Z., Nelius, E., Monne Rodriguez, J. M., Seehusen, F., Hussein, A., Moschini, G., Hajam, E. Y., Kiran, R., Gotthardt, D., Debbache, J., Badoual, C., Sato, T., Isagawa, T., Takeda, N., Tanchot, C., Tartour, E., Weber, A., Werner, S., Loffing, J., Sommer, L., Sexl, V., Munz, C., Feghali-Bostwick, C., Pachera, E., Distler, O., Snedeker, J., Jamora, C., and Stockmann, C. (2022) Vaccination-based immunotherapy to target profibrotic cells in liver and lung. Cell Stem Cell 29, 1459-1474 e1459
  • Hajam, E. Y., Panikulam, P., Chu, C. C., Jayaprakash, H., Majumdar, A., and Jamora, C. (2022) The expanding impact of T-regs in the skin. Front Immunol 13, 983700
  • Bhatt, T., Dey, R., Hegde, A., Ketkar, A. A., Pulianmackal, A. J., Deb, A. P., Rampalli, S., and Jamora, C. (2022) Initiation of wound healing is regulated by the convergence of mechanical and epigenetic cues. PLoS Biol 20, e3001777
  • Badarinath, K., Dam, B., Kataria, S., Zirmire, R. K., Dey, R., Kansagara, G., Ajnabi, J., Hegde, A., Singh, R., Masudi, T., Sambath, J., Sachithanandan, S. P., Kumar, P., Gulyani, A., He, Y. W., Krishna, S., and Jamora, C. (2022) Snail maintains the stem/progenitor state of skin epithelial cells and carcinomas through the autocrine effect of matricellular protein Mindin. Cell Rep 40, 111390
  • Zaarour, R. F., Azakir, B., Hajam, E. Y., Nawafleh, H., Zeinelabdin, N. A., Engelsen, A. S. T., Thiery, J., Jamora, C., and Chouaib, S. (2021) Role of Hypoxia-Mediated Autophagy in Tumor Cell Death and Survival. Cancers (Basel) 13
  • Saha, D., Thannimangalath, S., Budamakuntla, L., Loganathan, E., and Jamora, C. (2021) Hair Follicle Grafting Therapy Promotes Re-Emergence of Critical Skin Components in Chronic Nonhealing Wounds. JID Innov 1, 100041
  • Rana, I., Badarinath, K., Zirmire, R. K., and Jamora, C. (2021) Isolation and Quantification of Mouse gammadeltaT-cells in vitro and in vivo. Bio Protoc 11, e4148
  • Gund, R., Zirmire, R., J, H., Kansagara, G., and Jamora, C. (2021) Histological and Immunohistochemical Examination of Stem Cell Proliferation and Reepithelialization in the Wounded Skin. Bio Protoc 11, e3894
  • Biswas, R., Banerjee, A., Lembo, S., Zhao, Z., Lakshmanan, V., Lim, R., Le, S., Nakasaki, M., Kutyavin, V., Wright, G., Palakodeti, D., Ross, R. S., Jamora, C., Vasioukhin, V., Jie, Y., and Raghavan, S. (2021) Mechanical instability of adherens junctions overrides intrinsic quiescence of hair follicle stem cells. Dev Cell 56, 761-780 e767
  • Bhatt, T., Bhosale, A., Bajantri, B., Mathapathi, M. S., Rizvi, A., Scita, G., Majumdar, A., and Jamora, C. (2019) Sustained Secretion of the Antimicrobial Peptide S100A7 Is Dependent on the Downregulation of Caspase-8. Cell Rep 29, 2546-2555 e2544
  • Badarinath, K., Dutta, A., Hegde, A., Pincha, N., Gund, R., and Jamora, C. (2019) Interactions Between Epidermal Keratinocytes, Dendritic Epidermal T-Cells, and Hair Follicle Stem Cells. Methods Mol Biol 1879, 285-297
  • Pincha, N., Saha, D., Bhatt, T., Zirmire, R. K., and Jamora, C. (2018) Activation of Fibroblast Contractility via Cell-Cell Interactions and Soluble Signals. Bio Protoc 8, e3021
  • Pincha, N., Hajam, E. Y., Badarinath, K., Batta, S. P. R., Masudi, T., Dey, R., Andreasen, P., Kawakami, T., Samuel, R., George, R., Danda, D., Jacob, P. M., and Jamora, C. (2018) PAI1 mediates fibroblast-mast cell interactions in skin fibrosis. J Clin Invest 128, 1807-1819
  • Lee, P., Gund, R., Dutta, A., Pincha, N., Rana, I., Ghosh, S., Witherden, D., Kandyba, E., MacLeod, A., Kobielak, K., Havran, W. L., and Jamora, C. (2017) Stimulation of hair follicle stem cell proliferation through an IL-1 dependent activation of gammadeltaT-cells. Elife 6
  • Nakasaki, M., Hwang, Y., Xie, Y., Kataria, S., Gund, R., Hajam, E. Y., Samuel, R., George, R., Danda, D., M, J. P., Nakamura, T., Shen, Z., Briggs, S., Varghese, S., and Jamora, C. (2015) The matrix protein Fibulin-5 is at the interface of tissue stiffness and inflammation in fibrosis. Nat Commun 6, 8574
  • Lee, D. J., Du, F., Chen, S. W., Nakasaki, M., Rana, I., Shih, V. F. S., Hoffmann, A., and Jamora, C. (2015) Regulation and Function of the Caspase-1 in an Inflammatory Microenvironment. J Invest Dermatol 135, 2012-2020
  • Ando, T., Matsumoto, K., Namiranian, S., Yamashita, H., Glatthorn, H., Kimura, M., Dolan, B. R., Lee, J. J., Galli, S. J., Kawakami, Y., Jamora, C., and Kawakami, T. (2015) Mast Cells Are Required for Full Expression of Allergen/SEB-Induced Skin Inflammation. J Invest Dermatol 135, 925
  • Kim, J., Nakasaki, M., Todorova, D., Lake, B., Yuan, C. Y., Jamora, C., and Xu, Y. (2014) p53 Induces skin aging by depleting Blimp1+ sebaceous gland cells. Cell Death Dis 5, e1141
  • Aung, A., Seo, Y. N., Lu, S., Wang, Y., Jamora, C., del Alamo, J. C., and Varghese, S. (2014) 3D traction stresses activate protease-dependent invasion of cancer cells. Biophys J 107, 2528-2537
  • Ando, T., Xiao, W., Gao, P., Namiranian, S., Matsumoto, K., Tomimori, Y., Hong, H., Yamashita, H., Kimura, M., Kashiwakura, J., Hata, T. R., Izuhara, K., Gurish, M. F., Roers, A., Rafaels, N. M., Barnes, K. C., Jamora, C., Kawakami, Y., and Kawakami, T. (2014) Critical role for mast cell Stat5 activity in skin inflammation. Cell Rep 6, 366-376
  • Cowburn, A. S., Takeda, N., Boutin, A. T., Kim, J. W., Sterling, J. C., Nakasaki, M., Southwood, M., Goldrath, A. W., Jamora, C., Nizet, V., Chilvers, E. R., and Johnson, R. S. (2013) HIF isoforms in the skin differentially regulate systemic arterial pressure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110, 17570-17575
  • Bhatt, T., Rizvi, A., Batta, S. P., Kataria, S., and Jamora, C. (2013) Signaling and mechanical roles of E-cadherin. Cell Commun Adhes 20, 189-199
  • Ando, T., Matsumoto, K., Namiranian, S., Yamashita, H., Glatthorn, H., Kimura, M., Dolan, B. R., Lee, J. J., Galli, S. J., Kawakami, Y., Jamora, C., and Kawakami, T. (2013) Mast cells are required for full expression of allergen/SEB-induced skin inflammation. J Invest Dermatol 133, 2695-2705
  • Xu, J., Caro-Diaz, E. J., Lacoske, M. H., Hung, C. I., Jamora, C., and Theodorakis, E. A. (2012) Fusarisetin A: Scalable Total Synthesis and Related Studies. Chem Sci 3, 3378-3386
  • Kanemaru, K., Nakamura, Y., Sato, K., Kojima, R., Takahashi, S., Yamaguchi, M., Ichinohe, M., Kiyonari, H., Shioi, G., Kabashima, K., Nakahigashi, K., Asagiri, M., Jamora, C., Yamaguchi, H., and Fukami, K. (2012) Epidermal phospholipase Cdelta1 regulates granulocyte counts and systemic interleukin-17 levels in mice. Nat Commun 3, 963
  • Swamy, M., Jamora, C., Havran, W., and Hayday, A. (2010) Epithelial decision makers: in search of the 'epimmunome'. Nat Immunol 11, 656-665
  • Li, C., Lasse, S., Lee, P., Nakasaki, M., Chen, S. W., Yamasaki, K., Gallo, R. L., and Jamora, C. (2010) Development of atopic dermatitis-like skin disease from the chronic loss of epidermal caspase-8. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107, 22249-22254
  • Du, F., Nakamura, Y., Tan, T. L., Lee, P., Lee, R., Yu, B., and Jamora, C. (2010) Expression of snail in epidermal keratinocytes promotes cutaneous inflammation and hyperplasia conducive to tumor formation. Cancer Res 70, 10080-10089
  • Baldo, C., Jamora, C., Yamanouye, N., Zorn, T. M., and Moura-da-Silva, A. M. (2010) Mechanisms of vascular damage by hemorrhagic snake venom metalloproteinases: tissue distribution and in situ hydrolysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 4, e727
  • Mielgo, A., Torres, V. A., Schmid, M. C., Graf, R., Zeitlin, S. G., Lee, P., Shields, D. J., Barbero, S., Jamora, C., and Stupack, D. G. (2009) The death effector domains of caspase-8 induce terminal differentiation. PLoS One 4, e7879
  • Lee, P., Lee, D. J., Chan, C., Chen, S. W., Ch'en, I., and Jamora, C. (2009) Dynamic expression of epidermal caspase 8 simulates a wound healing response. Nature 458, 519-523
  • Boutin, A. T., Weidemann, A., Fu, Z., Mesropian, L., Gradin, K., Jamora, C., Wiesener, M., Eckardt, K. U., Koch, C. J., Ellies, L. G., Haddad, G., Haase, V. H., Simon, M. C., Poellinger, L., Powell, F. L., and Johnson, R. S. (2008) Epidermal sensing of oxygen is essential for systemic hypoxic response. Cell 133, 223-234
  • Jamora, C., Lee, P., Kocieniewski, P., Azhar, M., Hosokawa, R., Chai, Y., and Fuchs, E. (2005) A signaling pathway involving TGF-beta2 and snail in hair follicle morphogenesis. PLoS Biol 3, e11
  • Perez-Moreno, M., Jamora, C., and Fuchs, E. (2003) Sticky business: orchestrating cellular signals at adherens junctions. Cell 112, 535-548
  • Jamora, C., DasGupta, R., Kocieniewski, P., and Fuchs, E. (2003) Links between signal transduction, transcription and adhesion in epithelial bud development. Nature 422, 317-322
  • Hoffman, L. M., Nix, D. A., Benson, B., Boot-Hanford, R., Gustafsson, E., Jamora, C., Menzies, A. S., Goh, K. L., Jensen, C. C., Gertler, F. B., Fuchs, E., Fassler, R., and Beckerle, M. C. (2003) Targeted disruption of the murine zyxin gene. Mol Cell Biol 23, 70-79
  • Jamora, C., and Fuchs, E. (2002) Intercellular adhesion, signalling and the cytoskeleton. Nat Cell Biol 4, E101-108
  • Jamora, C., Theodoraki, M. A., Malhotra, V., and Theodorakis, E. A. (2001) Investigation of the biological mode of action of clerocidin using whole cell assays. Bioorg Med Chem 9, 1365-1370
  • Fuchs, E., Merrill, B. J., Jamora, C., and DasGupta, R. (2001) At the roots of a never-ending cycle. Dev Cell 1, 13-25
  • Jamora, C., Yamanouye, N., Van Lint, J., Laudenslager, J., Vandenheede, J. R., Faulkner, D. J., and Malhotra, V. (1999) Gbetagamma-mediated regulation of Golgi organization is through the direct activation of protein kinase D. Cell 98, 59-68
  • Jamora, C. (1999) 100 years of Golgi complexities. Trends Cell Biol 9, 37-38
  • Jamora, C., Takizawa, P. A., Zaarour, R. F., Denesvre, C., Faulkner, D. J., and Malhotra, V. (1997) Regulation of Golgi structure through heterotrimeric G proteins. Cell 91, 617-626
  • Jamora, C., Dennert, G., and Lee, A. S. (1996) Inhibition of tumor progression by suppression of stress protein GRP78/BiP induction in fibrosarcoma B/C10ME. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 93, 7690-7694

  • Badarinath, K., Dutta, A., Hegde, A, Pincha, N. Gund. R, C. Jamora. (2018) Interactions between epidermal keratinocytes, dendritic epidermal T-cells, hair follicle stem cells.  In Skin Stem Cells, 2nd Edition. Methods in Molecular Biology (Kursad Turksen, series editor). Springer Publishers
  • Jamora C. (2014). Mechanisms of Wound Repair. In Stem Cells: From Basic Research to Therapy, Volume 2. (Federico Calegari and Claudia Waskow, editors). CRC Press.

  • National Symposium on Stem Cells and Cellular Therapy, SGPGIMS, Lucknow India (November 2022): “Regulation and Deployment of Stem Cells in the Wounded Skin”
  • Skin Physiology International Meeting, Vichy, France (November 2022): “Immunosenescence in Wound Healing”
  • University of Hyderabad, India (October 2022): “Regulation of Epithelial Stem Cells in Wounded Skin”.
  • Indian Academy Degree College, Bangalore, India (May 2022): “Stem cells and wound healing”
  • Singapore International Skin Conference (March 2022): “Regulation of antimicrobial peptides in the skin”
  • Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Kerala, India. National Science Day Keynote Lecture (February 2022): “Stem Cells and Wound Healing”
  • Saveetha College of Allied Health Sciences (Department of Biomedical Sciences) (October 2021): “Stem Cells and Wound Healing”
  • inStem Science Setu Webinar Series (August 2021): “How does the skin heal wounds?
  • BMS College of Engineering for Women International Microbiology Webinar, 2020. “Harnessing the Body’s Innate Immune Defense to Combat Infection”
  • St. Joseph College, Department of Microbiology, Bangalore, India, 2020. “Understanding the Wound Healing Program”
  • IDEA 2020 Conference. Bangalore, India. “Understanding the Wound Healing Program”
  • Skin Immunity Workshop, Jarkarta, Indonesia 2019. “Antimicrobial peptides in the skin”
  • Mechano Developmental Biology Meeting, Coorg, India 2019. “Mechanical and Epigenetic Regulation of Wound Healing”
  • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Hyderabad 2019. “Understanding the Wound Healing Program and Allied Diseases”.
  • Indo-Australian Symposium on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition. National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India 2018. “A non-canonical signaling pathway mediating Snail-induced fibrosis”
  • University of Miami – Dermatology Medical Science Training Program First Annual Conference. Miami, Florida 2018. “Mast Cells and Fibrosis”

  • 2016 – 2018 Scientific Advisor, Unilever R&D (Bangalore, India)
  • 2015 – present Scientific Advisor, Aeon Biotherapeutics Inc. (Taiwan, ROC)

  • 2013 – 2023 Coordinator (equivalent to Department Chair), Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Homeostasis, inStem.
  • 2021 – present Member, Scientific Advisory Committee. Therapy Resistance and Stem Cell Biology Group, Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Mumbai India
  • 2020 –2022 Member, Governing Council of inStem 2020 –2022.
  • 2020 – 2023 Principal Investigator (for inStem), Bangalore Life Science Cluster COVID Testing Laboratory. 2020 – pres.
  • 2020 – 2023 Principal Investigator (for inStem), Bangalore Life Science Cluster COVID Biorepository
  • 2019 – 2020 Nodal Officer, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Innovation Excellence Indicators for Public Funded R&D Organizations
  • 2020 – 2023 Lead Investigator, Indigenisation of Diagnostics (InDx) Project, Centre of Excellence for Clinical Studies supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation
  • 2021 – 2023 Member, inStem Institutional Human Ethics Committee (IRB). 2021 – pres.
  • 2018 – 2023 Chair, inStem Institutional Biosafety Committee

  • Reviewer for: Nature Communications, Journal of Cell Biology, PLoS Biology, PNAS, Developmental Cell, Journal of Cell Science, Cell Stem Cell