Dr. Pradheep Chhalliyil, PhD
Scientist, pattern thinker, educator and entrepreneur. Nearly four decades spent asking two questions: what makes a cell go wrong, and what keeps a person well?
Pradheep Chhalliyil grew up in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and holds a PhD in Biochemistry (Molecular Cancer Biology) from Madurai Kamaraj University. His thesis on Cleistanthin, an anticancer compound he isolated from the plant Cleistanthus collinus, won the Anna Memorial Gold Award for the best PhD thesis in the cancer field in India, and led to a patent.
From 1997 to 2000 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, studying DNA breaks in the MLL gene in childhood leukaemia. He then spent nearly 19 years as a Senior Scientist at FoodChain ID in Iowa, developing DNA-based methods to detect GMOs, allergens and food adulteration with real-time PCR, digital PCR and sequencing.
Since 2020 he has built molecular diagnostics in India: as Co-Founder and CEO/CSO of AMMAGENOMICS, an NABL-accredited (ISO 15189 and ISO/IEC 17025) precision health and food testing laboratory in Chennai; founder of OORJV food and herbal medicine certification; co-founder of MA Omics; and Chief Scientific Officer of YSA Labs in Tempe, Arizona. His work brings together the microbiome, mitochondria, oxidative stress, inflammation and polyphenol science under his framework of Personalized Signatory Naturogenomics.
Alongside the science runs a lifelong thread: the 010FEET five-element pattern, formalised as Uni5. With Dr. M. Madeswaran and Dr. Sendurai Mani he co-founded the Sakthi Foundation (India, 1998) and Uni5 Sakthi Schools. He has written six books in English, Tamil and Malayalam, and has given 140 talks in India, the USA, Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia.
From the lecture hall to the laboratory, on three continents
Specialisms: PCR and digital PCR assay design, nucleic acid extraction from difficult samples, next-generation sequencing and metagenomics, food adulteration and polyphenol testing, and building and leading laboratory teams.
- 2021 – now
Co-Founder & CEO/CSO, AMMAGENOMICS
Chennai, India. Clinical genomics, microbiome, RNA expression and food testing; NABL accredited.
- 2021 – now
Founder & CSO, OORJV Certification
Food and herbal medicine verification and certification.
- 2021 – now
Chief Scientific Officer, YSA Labs
Tempe, Arizona, USA.
- 2020 – 2021
Molecular Diagnosis Director
Diagnostic laboratory, Chennai, India.
- 2019 – 2020
Biotechnology Consultant, SomaGenics
California, USA.
- 2000 – 2019
Senior Scientist, FoodChain ID
Iowa, USA. Research and development of DNA methods for GMO, allergen and adulteration detection: qPCR, digital PCR and sequencing.
- 1997 – 2000
Postdoctoral Fellow, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, New York, USA. Paediatric oncology; MLL gene rearrangements.
- 1990 – 1997
Lecturer in Biochemistry
PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore (1990–1992); taught MSc Biology and Biotechnology at Madurai Kamaraj University during his PhD (1992–1997).
Learning, from Coimbatore to Harvard
PhD, Biochemistry & Cancer Biology
Madurai Kamaraj University (degree awarded 1998). Thesis on Cleistanthins and the proliferation of normal and tumour cells.
MSc, Biochemistry
PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore (Bharathiar University). Project on serum acetylcholinesterase in cancer.
BSc, Biochemistry
PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore.
Three certificates
Designing a Sustainable Nutrition Plan (31 Jan) · Lifestyle and Wellness Coaching (6 Mar) · Nutrition and Wellness Coaching (23 Mar, ID 176236890).
Professional Certification in Precision Nutrition
IGMPI, India.
Schooling in Coimbatore
Seventh Day Adventist School, Kattoor · C.M.S. Vidya Mandir, Ganapathy · Sri Baldevdas Kikani Vidyamandir.
Four inventions
- 1995Isolation of the anticancer principle Cleistanthin from medicinal plants (India, 1539/MAS/95)
- 1995Electrochemical water sterilisation through singlet oxygen production (India, 1622/MAS/95)
- 2021Single-tube, extraction-free RNA method (USA, pending)
- 2022High-quality RNA and DNA extraction (India and USA, pending)
Selected research, by theme
- CancerCleistanthin studies in Mutagenesis, Apoptosis, Oncology Research and Mutation Research (1996–2000); MLL gene rearrangements in Blood (1999) and Human Molecular Genetics (2001)
- FoodDetection of GM rice in Mexican and American markets, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2008); qPCR method for a genome-edited plant, Foods (2020)
- MicrobiomeOral microbiome studies in Dental Hypotheses, JISPCD and SRM Journal of Research in Dental Sciences (2020–2022); soil microbiota, Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology (2025)
- Uni5Case reports on the Uni5 approach in Panacea Journal of Medical Sciences, Journal of Phytopharmacology and Journal of Ayurvedic and Herbal Medicine (2021–2024)
Awards and fellowships
Anna Memorial Gold Award
For the best PhD thesis in the cancer field in India.
Book Award, Hollywood Spiritual Film Festival
For Journey to the Source: Decoding Matrix Trilogy.
National fellowships
UGC Lectureship (1990), ICAR Biotechnology (1991), UGC-CSIR Junior Research Fellowship (1992) and Senior Research Fellowship (1994).
Conference scholarships
Full scholarships to two scientific conferences in Washington, D.C.
Founder, Uni5 Sakthi Foundation
Non-profit for health, education and community service in India, the USA and Indonesia.
30 million+ readers
A wellness website of 2,000+ pages on health, relationships, education and spirituality.
“Pradheep is an exceptional scientist, a rare combination of deep analytical ability and highly creative, intuitive problem-solving. His innovations saved the company millions of dollars.”
John Fagan, PhD · Chairman & CSO, Health Research Institute“The Uni5 school approach transformed how my child learns. He is not just academically stronger: he is calmer, more self-aware, and genuinely happy going to school every morning.”
Parent · Sakthi SchoolRead the story behind the science
How a 4 a.m. experiment and a lifelong pattern became 010FEET.
The origin story Talks & lectures