My Work

Research

Projects, methods & technical skills

Projects

Research Projects

1 2023 – 2026

Mechanisms of Anoikis Resistance in Breast Cancer Metastasis

  • a. Studied how the AMPK–NUAK axis affects cell fate pathways (apoptosis and autophagy) and identified the metabolic signature that supports survival of anoikis-resistant cancer cells.
  • b. Formulated an ODE-based deterministic mechanistic model of Akt–AMPK–ERK signaling to predict cell fate under matrix deprivation; identified that Akt dominates over AMPK and ERK in deciding cell fate.
  • c. Formulated a mathematical model capturing the attachment-detachment signaling network and identified several signaling and metabolic changes upon detachment.
2 2025 – 2026

ERK–AMPK Axis in Anoikis

  • a. Explored the effect of ERK heterogeneity on AMPK signaling and ROS generation.
  • b. Designed an in vivo tail-vein assay to evaluate the metastatic potential of 4T1-eGFP cells treated with ERK inhibitor; identified a greater number of lung nodules upon ERK inhibition.
3 2021 – 2023

Interface of Type 2 Diabetes and Breast Cancer Progression

  • a. Established a pipeline to study the effect of type 2 diabetes on breast cancer using diabetic/non-diabetic patient-derived tumor and blood samples; additionally worked on blood-derived circulating tumor cells.
  • b. Visited cancer hospitals and interacted with molecular oncologists and diabetic clinicians to understand how laboratory research can help clinicians in patient treatment.
4 2019 – 2021

Characterization of Chitosan–Gelatin–Oxidized Guar Gum Hydrogel

Fabricated hydrogel and assessed physical properties including gelling time, pH, degradation, swelling and water loss indices. Performed FT-IR analysis, scanning electron microscopy, crosslinking efficiency, viscosity, tensile test, compression, and rheology study.

5 2017 – 2019

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Computational Biology Approach

  • a. Studied the EML4–ALK fusion gene and downstream pathways (Ras, Raf, NFKB, JAK-STAT, Wnt).
  • b. Utilized G- Schrödinger graphical user interface Maestro for exploring the ALK inhibitory activity of 1574 plant-derived compounds from NPACT database and identified three hits to be cytotoxic against ALK-positive NSCLC.
Expertise

Technical Skills

Mathematical & Computational

Mathematical Modeling

Deterministic ordinary differential equation (ODE)-based mechanistic mathematical model building Dimensionality reduction Parameter estimation (global and local minima, root mean square error) Stability analysis Parameter sensitivity analysis Time-scale separation 3D-nullcline analysis Phase portraits Bifurcation analysis Flux map analysis Linear discriminant analysis Differential activity of proteins Node and feedback perturbation Bistability analysis

Computational Modeling

In silico dataset generation Protein preparation PHASE database creation Molecular docking ADME (Adsorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion) property analysis Molecular dynamic simulations

Software

PyMol Schrödinger Suites GLIDE package GROMACS ImageJ GraphPad Prism MATLAB

Experimental

Cell Biology

Tissue culture practices (primary and secondary) Patient tumor tissue handling and processing Organoid and single cell culture Circulating tumor cell culture Plasma-membrane fractionation Cell-based assay (glucose-uptake, glucose consumption, ATP determination, lactate, NADPH, ROS, apoptosis, autophagy, seahorse bioenergetics)

Microscopy & Imaging

Brightfield/Phase contrast microscopy Epifluorescence and laser confocal microscopy Incucyte live-cell imaging Total internal reflection (TIRF) microscopy Scanning electron microscopy

Biochemistry & Analytical Techniques

Western blotting SDS-PAGE Agarose gel electrophoresis Immunocytochemistry Flow Cytometry (FACS) analysis FACS sorting UV spectrophotometer Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy X-ray diffraction

Molecular Biology

Transformation Plasmid mini-prep Restriction digestion Plasmid midi-prep Transfection

Materials Engineering

Hydrogel fabrication Rheology study Tensile & compression testing Swelling & degradation studies