Nilesh Chatterjee nc548@cam.ac.uk
India
Department of Pharmacology, Christ's College
PhD thesis: Nucleic Acid Scaffold-dependent proximity-mediated Enzyme Response (NASPER) - A Proof of Concept Study
Research interests
1. Gene Therapy
2. in vivo Gene Delivery Systems
3. Nanobiomedicine
4. Novel Manufacturing Methods for Biologics
My PhD project involves the development of an original, novel, non-editing gene therapy that will initially be applied to broad spectrum cancer gene therapy. In brief, host gene expression will drive the activation of an exogenous, cytotoxic gene with the end goal of specific and sensitive targeted ablation of cancer cells without the need to modify the host genome. In addition to this project, I may be carrying out side-projects in the in vivo delivery of this novel gene therapy, novel methods of producing biologics in order to lower extortionately high drug costs, and application of gene therapy techniques to plant cells to create novel ways of tackling global warming.
Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?
Well, my will to research is a two-source story. The unsolvability of certain problems and the need to help all living things! As you can tell this leads perfectly to thesis title and research interests. Thus, my current and future research will always try to address problems such as disease, death, the disparity in pharmaceutical access for the rich and poor, global warming, the extinction of biodiversity, overpopulation etc, in order to help people and the planet alike.