Research
Research Interests
Tumor Microenvironment, its heterogeneity and therapeutic solutions
Some cancers like melanoma and breast cancer show greater therapy resistance and have limited treatment and therapeutic options One of the key factors that make targeting tumors very hard is its tumor microenvironment (TME). The tumor microenvironment is the ecosystem which is an intricate and dynamic environment that surrounds a tumor, which includes immune cells, stromal cells, the extracellular matrix, blood vessels and other cells, like fibroblasts and soluble factors that play a crucial role in tumor progression, metastasis, resistance to treatment and response to therapy. A tumor and its microenvironment constantly interact and influence each other, either positively or negatively. A fundamental aspect of TME is its heterogeneity. Heterogeneity in the TME is the presence of distinct molecular and cellular characteristics among different tumors and even within the same tumor, which can impact the tumor’s behavior and response to treatment.
Research Questions
- Can we address tumor heterogeneity by manipulating the features of tumors themselves?
- Can we create a more personalized and effective treatment to tumor metastasis?
Strategies & Techniques
Non-viral delivery methods like lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are utilized for targeting melanoma TME and TFAP2. The advantages such a strategy would offer are long term treatment, safety, cost, potential for uptake and precision. The CRISPR construct along with the gRNA target with LNP’s surface can be transported modified with ligands or antibodies that recognize and bind to specific markers or receptors uniquely expressed on cancer cells. This targeted binding increases the likelihood of preferential uptake by cancer cells while reducing uptake by healthy cells in the TME.
My research has offered valuable insight that the TFAP2 gene is differentially over expressed in melanoma compared to normal. Targeting TFAP2 gene can lead to poor innervation in melanoma. TFAP2 targeting in melanoma is an effective and more long-lasting solution to treating melanoma.
Research Support
I thank the following organizations for the research support.
