Faculty Directory

Sriram, Ganesh

Sriram, Ganesh

Associate Professor
Keystone Professor
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
Brain and Behavior Institute
4418 Stadium Dr. 1208D
Website(s):

Education and Training

  • Ph.D., Iowa State University, 2004
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Los Angeles, 2004-2007

Background

Dr. Ganesh Sriram is Associate Professor and Keystone Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at University of Maryland. After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, he graduated a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Iowa State University in 2004, working in the lab of Dr. Jacqueline Shanks. From 2004 to 2007, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the labs of Dr. Katrina Dipple and Dr. James Liao at UCLA.

Honors and Awards (Selected)

  • Poole & Kent Teaching Award for Senior Faculty, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, 2022
  • Keystone Professorship, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, 2011
  • Outstanding Young Engineer Award and Allan C. Davis Medal, Maryland Academy of Sciences and Maryland Science Center, 2011
  • Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Best Presentation Award, Third International Congress on Plant Metabolomics, 2004
  • Metabolic Engineering III Fellowship, Engineering Conferences International, 2000
  • Best Innovative Potential Master’s Thesis Award, Indian National Academy of Engineering, 1999

Professional Memberships

  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
  • American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society

  • Metabolic engineering
  • Metabolic networks
  • Flux balance analysis (FBA)
  • Isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis (iMFA)
  • Regulatory networks
  • Plant metabolism
  • Human metabolism
  • Fuel production from biorenewable resources
  • Metabolic disorders

The Sriram Lab's research is focused on two related areas: metabolic engineering and systems biology, especially of eukaryotes. The group's  specialties are metabolic flux analysis and gene regulatory network analysis. Toward performing such analyses, the group combines experimental methods such as isotope labeling, two-dimensional (2-D) NMR, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), DNA microarray analysis and quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) together with computational methods.

Professor Sriram currently teaches or has taught the following courses:

  • BIOE 120: Biology for Engineers
  • CHBE100: Exploring ChBE
  • CHBE101 (previously listed as ENCH215): Introduction to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
  • CHBE301 (previously listed as ENCH300): Chemical Process Thermodynamics
  • CHBE444: Process Economics and Design I
  • CHBE484 (also listed as ENCH468M, BIOE 489L, ENCH648M): Metabolic Pathway Engineering

  • Lugar DJ, Sriram G. Isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis as an equality-constrained nonlinear program for improved scalability and robustness. PLOS Computational Biology. 2022;18: e1009831. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009831
  • Goldberg DS, Sriram G. Assessment of short and longer-term impacts of a 1-credit chemical engineering first-year seminar. Chemical Engineering Education. 2021 [cited 22 May 2022]. doi:10.18260/2-1-370.660-129531
  • Moiz B, Garcia J, Basehore S, Sun A, Li A, Padmanabhan S, et al. 13C metabolic flux analysis indicates endothelial cells attenuate metabolic perturbations by modulating TCA activity. Metabolites. 2021;11: 226. doi:10.3390/metabo11040226
  • Sittmann J, Bae M, Mevers E, Li M, Quinn A, Sriram G, et al. Bacterial diketopiperazines stimulate diatom growth and lipid accumulation. Plant Physiology. 2021;186: 1159–1170. doi:10.1093/plphys/kiab080
  • Mack SG, Sriram G. NetFlow: A tool for isolating carbon flows in genome-scale metabolic networks. Metabolic Engineering Communications. 2021;12: e00154. doi:10.1016/j.mec.2020.e00154
  • Lugar DJ, Mack SG, Sriram G. NetRed, an algorithm to reduce genome-scale metabolic networks and facilitate the analysis of flux predictions. Metabolic Engineering. 2021;65: 207–222. doi:10.1016/j.ymben.2020.11.003
  • Chung J, Sriram G, Keefer CL. Nanoparticle technology improves in-vitro attachment of cattle (Bos taurus) trophectoderm cells. Biotechnol Lett. 2020;42: 2083–2089. doi:10.1007/s10529-020-02926-w
  • Zhang X, Misra A, Nargund S, Coleman GD, Sriram G. Concurrent isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis and transcriptome profiling reveal responses of poplar cells to altered nitrogen and carbon supply. Plant J. 2018;93: 472–488. doi:10.1111/tpj.13792
  • Parr LS, Sriram G, Nazarian R, Rahib L, Dipple KM. The ATP-stimulated translocation promoter (ASTP) activity of glycerol kinase plays central role in adipogenesis. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 2018;124: 254–265. doi:10.1016/j.ymgme.2018.06.001
  • Ho CK, Sriram G, Dipple KM. Insulin sensitivity predictions in individuals with obesity and type II diabetes mellitus using mathematical model of the insulin signal transduction pathway. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 2016;119: 288–292. doi:10/gdq92s
  • Ho CK, Rahib L, Liao JC, Sriram G, Dipple KM. Mathematical modeling of the insulin signal transduction pathway for prediction of insulin sensitivity from expression data. Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. 2015;114: 66–72. doi:10/gdq92r
  • Islam N, Li G, Garrett WM, Lin R, Sriram G, Cooper B, et al. Proteomics of nitrogen remobilization in poplar bark. J Proteome Res. 2015;14: 1112–1126. doi:10.1021/pr501090p
  • Nargund S, Misra A, Zhang X, Coleman GD, Sriram G. Flux and reflux: Metabolite reflux in plant suspension cells and its implications on isotope-assisted metabolic flux analysis. Mol BioSyst. 2014;10: 1496–1508. doi:10.1039/C3MB70348G
  • Zheng Y, Quinn AH, Sriram G. Experimental evidence and isotopomer analysis of mixotrophic glucose metabolism in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Microbial Cell Factories. 2013;12: 109. doi:10.1186/1475-2859-12-109

Do Suddenly Self-Centered Brain Cells Promote Disease?

NSF Award Funds UMD Alzheimer’s Research Into Brain Glucose Metabolism

$7.9 Million in NIH Awards Propel UMD Aging Research

New multidisciplinary collaborations take on challenges like Alzheimer’s disease prevention.

Ganesh Sriram Wins 2022 Poole & Kent Teaching Award for Senior Faculty

Sriram will be honored at the spring commencement ceremony.

BBI Awards Seed Grants to Six Interdisciplinary Projects

Funded teams feature UMD faculty from 15 academic departments and six centers and institutes

Gastfriend Named 2015 Goldwater Scholar

National award supports outstanding undergraduates pursuing careers in research.

Hu, Leite Named Outstanding Engineer and Scientist of the Year (VIDEO)

Materials Science professors receive awards from the Md. Academy of Sciences and Md. Science Center.

Clark School Faculty Promotions Announced

Faculty promoted to full professor, associate professor with tenure.

ChBE Undergrads Win Prestigious Industrial Internships from SCI Program

"Exceptional sophomores and juniors" chosen from nationwide field of applicants for $6K-$10K internships.

2012 Energy Research Fellows Announced

Hulka, Hendricks awards will fund diverse sustainable energy research projects.

Sriram Honored as Outstanding Engineer of the Year

Science Center honors metabolic engineering expert, high-profile grant winner who guides successful students.

$1.9M NSF Grant Enables Study of Biomolecular Structures

New high-field spectrometer will help solve problems in biology, medicine, biofuels.

BioE, FDA Offer Summer Research Experiences for Undergrads

New partnership expands program, places students in federal labs.

A Tree in Your Tank?

$3.2M NSF grant funds effort to transform poplar trees into biofuel.

Lin Wins ASPB SURF Fellowship

Stipend will support study of carbon traffic in plant cells.

ChBE Welcomes 3 New Faculty

Klauda, Wang arrive Fall 2007; Sriram Spring 2008.