Cancer and Diagnostics

Biography

I have a PhD in Biochemistry (Kolkata, India, 2001) and have over nine years of post-doctoral experience first at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and then at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2010, I got promoted to Research Instructor at the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh and in 2012 to the position of Research Assistant Professor. Presently my research focusses on understanding epigenetic changes in cancer, development of therapeutic strategies based upon epigenetic alterations and development of alterations in DNA methylation for use as predictive biomarkers and early detection of lung cancer. My previous research was focused primarily on identifying new molecularly targeted strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) therapy. I have prior experience working in the area of glaucoma where we have looked at the effect of a novel therapeutic agent in the delay of progression of glaucoma. I have over 30 peer-reviewed publications.

Research Interest

Understanding and characterizing epigenetic changes in cancer as well as focusing on molecular targeted therapies in targeting novel molecules that are upregulated in cancer.