Dear Sir,
I am Dr. Shameer Ahmed from BITS Pilani, K,K Birla Goa campus, I hope all are in good health and doing well.
W.r.t ;” Annual cum Closure Report – Grant-Ref.No.2/Research/GCS/2019-20”.
It gives me immense pleasure to submit the report to you with all the information wrt to grant provided to me.
I am delighted to share that I have successfully defended my Ph.D Thesis on August 30th, 2022. The open viva-voce was hosted by AGSRD and conducted by my supervisor Prof Vijayashree Nayak at BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus. It was an awesome experience cum journey from being a Dentist to becoming a Scientist in progress. I had the honor to have an external/ opponent, a Physician Scientist Dr. A K RENGAN MBBS, M Tech, PhD Associate Professor – Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
My Ph.D. research topic was the “Chemoradiation strategy using PEGylated gold nanoparticles anchored with Doxorubicin against oral cancers- A nanomedicine in vitro approach”, I am wholeheartedly thankful to The Goa Cancer society, Goa for sponsoring a research grant utilising which I was able to procure require chemicals and reagents for the thesis. A big part of the thesis required me to travel from BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa campus to Manipal Hospital, Dona Paulsa, Goa, the transport was also allocated by the TGCS which helped in transporting the samples safely.
During the PhD tenure I was able to secure a senior research fellowship (SRF) from CSIR- Govt of India post the interview at Delhi. I would express my gratitude to Dr Gunjan Baijal Radiation Oncologist, Manipal Hospital Goa for guiding me. A basic description of the thesis – As with all anti cancer therapeutics some drawbacks, adverse events or resistances develop. To combat this scenario, I put forward my proposal, a chemoradiation strategy via nanomedicine approach. I was able to synthesize a gold-based drug delivery system where Doxorubicin was anchored along with PEG polymer for bioavailability enrichment. The nanomedicine synthesis was extensively characterized by various collaborations with esteemed institutes. Lastly, a MoU was signed with Manipal Hospital Goa (Oncology Unit), it helped us get access to LINAC radiation and CT scan facility. A huge burden of oral oncology is borne by India. By previous experience with the oral environment as a Dentist I selected an oral cancer cell line as target cancer. The radiation damages the DNA, Doxorubicin is a DNA damaging agent the gold nanoparticle beneath would enhance the damage in a synergistic pattern. This hypothesis was proved, at the end these nanoparticles were capable of performing as contrast agents when tested in CT scan. Overall, a theranostics material was generated.
As a closure view of the project, I have passed my PhD with 8.81 CGPA, a thesis was written both soft and hard copies were submitted. Two research articles were published which are the chapters in the said thesis.
I can’t thank enough for the opportunity and support provided by – The Goa Cancer Society,Goa
I have made sure to mention the support and financial assistance given by The Goa Cancer Society in all publications and thesis or even any talk related to the thesis. I do project the support even on social media in a positive light.
Looking forward to the best results from upcoming work too.
Lastly, I would like to thank Mrs.Sangita Chawan mam for being the point of contact for TGCS and billing support.
Shameer.
Dear Sangita Mam,
I am delighted to share that I have successfully defended my Ph.D Thesis on August 30th, 2022. The open viva-voce was hosted by AGSRD and conducted by my supervisor Prof Vijayashree Nayak at BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus. It was an awesome experience cum journey from being a Dentist to becoming a Scientist in progress. I had the honor to have an external/ opponent, a Physician Scientist Dr. A K RENGAN MBBS, M Tech, PhD Associate Professor – Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
My Ph.D. research topic was the “Chemoradiation strategy using PEGylated gold nanoparticles anchored with Doxorubicin against oral cancers- A nanomedicine in vitro approach”, based on which I have recently published two research articles.
I sincerely thank all my teachers, professors,technicians, seniors and colleagues who guided me in this intellectual journey.
I would express my gratitude to Dr Gunjan Baijal Radiation Oncologist, Manipal Hospital Goa.
Also, I am thankful to The Goa Cancer Society,Goa for sponsoring my research logistics, CSIR SRF for the fellowship.
When we were dealing with the Pandemic- Covid 19, at a later restricted movement, my visit to Manipal hospital Goa for irradiation of samples I noticed and learned a valuable lesson. Cancer patients are going through a lot more than we can imagine. We need to embrace what we have now. It was an excellent demonstration of the professional ethics of Dr Gunjan Baijal where he managed all his patients via holistic approach, he lent me his personal time to conduct my research work and teach me aspects beyond books.
Lastly, BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa campus is truly magical.
My future goal is to take up a challenging role, where I can perform the task using pluridisciplinary skills acquired while learning new techniques.
Shameer.
