My Research
Chronic wounds & Cancer-therapy Side Effects
Cancer Therapy Side Effects
Oral mucositis is a common and debilitating side effect of cancer treatment occurring in 90% of head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation, 40% of patients with solid tumours receiving chemotherapy, and 76% of bone marrow transplant patients. It is relevant to India due to the high prevalence of head and neck cancer, particularly oral cancer (30% of global cases) which is intensified by lifestyle and socio-economic factors. Though treatment options like basic oral hygiene, chemoprotective agents, and cryotherapy are available, they are not uniformly effective, and not viable with 23.6% of the global population below the poverty line. In this research I aim to study the anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties of a biological growth factor concentrate in correlation to expression of gene markers like COX-2(Cyclooxygenase-2), MMP-1(Matrix Metalloproteinase-1), TIMP-1(Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases). For the study I used a biological concentrate (PLAY) as a natural and holistic intervention to treat oral mucositis. It is rich in cytokines, growth factors and bioactive modulators and shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. In my study, I observed its effect on an in-vitro chronic wound simulation: MCF-7 (breast cancer cells) treated with 5-fluorouracil (2 μg/ml) and Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (3.048 ng/ml), and quantified gene expression using a semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Data analysis for 4 independent sets was done using ImageJ software and normalized with GAPDH. My results concluded decreased expression of pro-inflammatory markers such as COX-2 and MMP-1 that allude to an anti-inflammatory and wound healing effect.
Surgical Head and Neck Cancer shadowing Internship
Shadowed doctors at the Head and Neck Cancer Surgical department. Scrubbed into the operating room and observed procedures such as vocal lesion removals, removal of metastasized oral tumor and skin grafts. Observed doctor-patient connections and interacted with oral mucositis patients, which helped me understand the detrimental effects of the condition on their quality of life.
Stress and Chronic Inflammation
Building machine learning models to correlate psychological stress levels with the expression of cortisol and inflammatory markers. Creating a predictor for chronic inflammation in patients. Working with a team of medicine, bioinformatics and psychology college students, Wound healing PhD student and Research Director of the iCREST lab
