Associate Professor Dr Kavita Reginald

Associate Professor Dr Kavita Reginald

  • Head of Department
Department of Biological Sciences

Biography

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kavita Reginald’s research interests lie in the area of immunology. After obtaining her PhD in allergy from the National University of Singapore, she went to Austria and France to undertake post-doctoral training in the areas of molecular mechanisms of allergies and cellular signalling and interactomics. Upon her return to Malaysia, she established and Allergy Research Laboratory, and focuses on three main areas of allergy research; the genetic factors that make allergic individuals susceptible to this disease, understanding how an allergen causes an allergic reaction, and developing new molecules for allergy therapeutics that are both safe and efficacious.

Academic & Professional Qualifications

  • PhD in Biology, National University of Singapore, Singapore (2006)
  • BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia (2001)

Research Interests

  • Allergy
  • Immunotherapy
  • Immunology

Notable Publications

  1. Reginald, K., Pang, S.L., Chew, F.T. (2019) Blo t 2: Group 2 allergen from dust mite Blomia tropicalis. Scientific Reports 9(1):12239. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48688-y
  2. Reginald, K., Chew, F.T. (2019) The major allergen Der p 2 is a cholesterol binding protein. Scientific Reports 9(1):1556. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-38313-9.
  3. Reginald, K., Tan, C.L., Chen, S., Yuen, L., Goh S.Y. Chew, F.T. (2018) Characterization of Der f 22 – a paralogue of the major allergen Der f 2. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 11743. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-30224-z
  4. Reginald, K., Chew, F.T. (2018) Conformational IgE Epitope Mapping of Der p 2 and the Evaluations of Two Candidate Hypoallergens for Immunotherapy. Scientific Reports 8 (1), 3391. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-21792-1.
  5. Reginald, K., Chan, Y., Plebanski, M., & Poh, C. L. (2018) Development of peptide vaccines in dengue. Curr Pharm Des, 24(11):1157-1173. doi: 10.2174/1381612823666170913163904
  6. Reginald K, Chaoui K, Roncagalli R, Beau M, Goncalves Menoita M, Monsarrat B, Burlet-Schiltz O, Malissen M, Gonzalez de Peredo A, Malissen B. (2015) “Revisiting the Timing of Action of the PAG Adaptor Using Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of Primary T Cells.” J Immunol. 195:5472-81
  7. Reginald K, Eckl-Dorna J, Zafred D, Focke-Tejkl M, Lupinek C, Niederberger V, Keller W, Valenta R. (2013) “Different modes of IgE binding to CD23 revealed with major birch allergen, Bet v 1-specific monoclonal IgE.” Immunol Cell Biol. 91:167-72
  8. Reginald K, Westritschnig K, Linhart B, Focke-Tejkl M, Jahn-Schmid B, Eckl-Dorna J, Heratizadeh A, Stöcklinger A, Balic N, Spitzauer S, Niederberger V, Werfel T, Thalhamer J, Weidinger S, Novak N, Ollert M, Hirschl AM, Valenta R. (2011) “Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin-binding protein specifically binds IgE from patients with atopic dermatitis and requires antigen presentation for cellular immune responses.” J Allergy Clin Immunol. 128:82-91
  9. Reginald K, Westritschnig K, Werfel T, Heratizadeh A, Novak N, Focke-Tejkl M, Hirschl AM, Leung DY, Elisyutina O, Fedenko E, Valenta R. (2011) “Immunoglobulin E antibody reactivity to bacterial antigens in atopic dermatitis patients.” Clin Exp Allergy. 41:357-69
  10. Kidon MI, Chin CW, Kang LW, Ching OT, Seng TY, Ning WK, Angus AC, Theng OS, Feng GY, Reginald K, Zhi BX, Shen SH, Tim CF. (2011) “Mite component-specific IgE repertoire and phenotypes of allergic disease in childhood: The tropical perspective.” Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 22:202-10
  11. Lupinek C, Roux KH, Laffer S, Rauter I, Reginald K, Kneidinger M, Blatt K, Ball T, Pree I, Jahn-Schmid B, Allam JP, Novak N, Drescher A, Kricek F, Valent P, Englund H, Valenta R. (2009) “Trimolecular complex formation of IgE, Fc(epsilon)RI, and a recombinant nonanaphylactic single-chain antibody fragment with high affinity for IgE.” J Immunol. 182:4817-29
  12. Teh KF, Sio YY, Matta SA, Pang SL, Ng YT, Lim YY, Reginald K and Chew FT (2020) Genome-wide association studies on individuals from Han Chinese background reveal novel genes as potential risk factors for allergic rhinitis. Allergy 75(S109):23-24