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Dr. Ankita BorahPost-Doctoral ResearcherBio-Nano Electronics Research Centre Graduate School of Interdisciplinary New Science Toyo University, Kawagoe,Saitama, Japan Email: ankitaborah24@gmail.com |
Educational Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Bio-Nanotechnology, Bio-Nano Science Fusion Course (April 2014-March 2017), Graduate School of Interdisciplinary New Science, Toyo University, Japan.
- M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (August 2009-May 2011), Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur Central University, Assam, India.
- B.Sc. in Zoology (Honors) (July 2005- June 2008), Dept. of Zoology, Darrang College, Assam, India.
Professional History:
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre, Toyo University, Japan (Currently pursuing)
- Research Assistant, Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre, Toyo University, Japan (June 2014-February 2017)
- Teaching Assistant, Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre, Toyo University, Japan (September 2014-July 2016)
Academic Achievements:
- Recipient of Indira Gandhi Single Girl Child Scholarship, University Grants Commission (UGC), India and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India Scholarship for pursuing M.Sc.program (2009-2011) in Tezpur University, India.
- Recipient of Monbukagakusho (MEXT-2014) Japanese Government Scholarship for pursuing Ph.D. in Japan.
- Recipient of Inoue Enryo Research Grant (2016), Toyo University, Japan for pursuing Ph.D. research.
- TOEIC Qualified, Score: 910/990.
- Awarded Travel Grant for presenting Ph.D. work at the Trends in Nanotechnology International Conference (TNT2016), Fribourg, Switzerland, September 2016.
Research Interests:
- Cancer stem cells and its implications in cancer.
- Immunotherapeutic strategies for cancer therapy.
- Nano medical strategies using polymeric nanoparticles for eliminating cancer stem cells in cancer to prevent cancer relapse and drug resistivity.
- Understanding the role of CRISPR/Cas9 and iPSC technologies for advanced cancer therapeutic procedures.
Outline of Ph.D. research:
Thesis Title: Therapeutic polymeric nanoparticles for targeting and destruction of cancer stem cells (CSCs).
Abstract of Ph.D. Research: Nanotechnology has been able to extend a wide range of therapeutic advancements in the frontiers of cancer therapy research. Even though breakthrough progress has been made in the domain of current cancer research the menace of the disease still persists. Accumulating evidences have suggests the presence of a sub-population of cells that exists within tumors called as the cancer stem cells (CSCs) that exhibit resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics and unique growth resilience owing to the possession of distinctive properties. The essence of this thesis underlies the approach of development of a prospective strategy to target CSCs with the aid of nanotechnology.
We have used a small molecule Hedgehog pathway GLI Antagonist (GANT61), known to have superior anti-cancer effects over existing Hedgehog pathway inhibitors and encapsulated inside a biocompatible polymeric Nano carrier. The nanoformulation of GANT61 is reported for the first time as an alternative drug delivery system for anticancer therapy with improved aqueous solubility, bioavailability, showed anti-cancer effects and was also successful in eliminating CSC population. Since GANT61 nanoformulation was successful in imparting anti-cancer efficacy, we further bio-functionalized the GANT61 nanoformulation with an aptamer to achieve active targeting in cancer cells. The targeted aptamer GANT61 nanoformulation (A15-GANT61 NPs) imparted cytotoxicity towards cancer cells even at a low dose in comparison to the non-targeted GANT61 nanoformulation. Finally, to achieve complete elimination of tumor mass by killing the bulk tumor cells as well as the cancer stem cells, we further incorporated a dual drug combination therapy by encapsulating GANT61 and curcumin inside PLGA nanoparticles, which concludes the final step of our research work and elucidated superior results in in vitro cancer cell studies.
Publications:
- Targeting self-renewal pathways in Cancer stem cells: Clinical implications for cancer therapy.
Ankita Borah, Sreejith Raveendran, Ankit Rochani, Toru Maekawa, D. Sakthi Kumar, Oncogenesis, 2015. -
Poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid Nanoformulation of Small Molecule Antagonist GANT61 for Cancer Annihilation by Modulating Hedgehog Pathway.
Ankita Borah, Vivekanandan Palaninathan, Aswathy Ravindran Girija, Sivakumar Balasubramanian, Ankit K Rochani, Toru Maekawa, D.Sakthi Kumar, NanoWorld J, 2017. -
Heat-Shock Protein 90-Targeted Nano Anticancer Therapy.
RochaniAK, RavindranGirija A, Borah A, MaekawaT, Sakthi Kumar D, J Pharm Sci, 2016. -
Dual Mode of Cancer cell Destruction for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy Using Hsp90 Inhibitor Loaded PolymericNano Magnetic Formulation.
Ankit K. Rochani, Balasubramanian Sivakumar, Ravindran Girija Aswathy, SreejithRaveendran, Ankita Borah, Yutaka Nagaoka, Yoshikata Nakajima, Toru Maekawa, D. Sakthi Kumar. Int J Pharm,2016.
Presentations:
- Hedgehog (Hh) pathway inhibitor loaded polymeric nanoparticles for anti-cancer therapy.
A. Borah, V.Palaninathan, A.Ravindran, A. Rochani, S. Raveendran, T. Maekawa, D.S. Kumar. (Oral presentation) Trends inNanotechnology International Conference (TNT2016), Fribourg, Switzerland, September 2016. -
Hedgehog inhibitor GANT 61 nanoformulation for potential anti-cancer therapy.
A. Borah, V. Palaninathan, A.Ravindran, S. Balasubramanian, A. Rochani, T. Maekawa, D.S. Kumar. (Poster presentation) 14th International Symposium on Bioscience and Nanotechnology, Toyo University, Japan, November 2016. -
Targeting self-renewal pathways in Cancer stem cells: Clinical implications for cancer therapy.
Ankita Borah, Sreejith Raveendran, Ankit Rochani, Toru Maekawa, D.Sakthi Kumar. (Poster presentation) 12th International Symposium on Bioscience and Nanotechnology, Toyo University, Japan, November 2014.
