An Indian scientist is setting up an independent laboratory and hopes to attract the best talents from across the Continents to undertake advanced cancer and steam cell research.
Dr Raj Kannan is an emerging young leader in the field, doing India proud with his achievements in academia and expertise in studies related to breast cancer.
He is currently specialising in stem cell research in the laboratory of Dr Connie Eaves at the Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada.
His recent work with Dr Eaves in collaboration with Dr David Gilley’s team (at the Telomere Biology Laboratory in Indianapolis, US) represents an exceptionally novel finding with a significant impact on the breast cancer research.
“The joint study, describing an unusual mechanism of DNA mutation in a particular progenitor cells in breast, has been published recently in the inaugural issue of ‘Stem Cell Reports,’ a new journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) by Cell Press. This Paper, selected for a press release by Cell Press, has garnered worldwide attention,” Dr Kannan said.
Unique investigation
He hopes to identify and investigate unique mutation-prone cellular states in normal human breast tissue that act as a breeding ground for various life-threatening cancers. His focus is on the role of toxic reactive oxygen in these processes.
Dr Kannan arrived in New Zealand to pursue his doctorate in Molecular Medicine with experts in Growth Hormone research Dr Peter Gluckmann (currently Chief Scientific Advisor to Prime Minister) and Dr Peter Lobie at the University of Auckland.
His wife Dr Chitrapriya Emperumal is a dentist.
Dr Kannan said that he was committed to research that aims to improve the treatment of cancer. He evinced interest in the field while undergoing training at the Bhopal based Cancer Hospital in India. The city suffered the worst industrial disaster in December 1984 at the Union Carbide plant, where a gas (methyl isocyanate) leak exposed more than 500,000 and killed at least 3000 people.
“My studies led to the discovery of secreted proteins that confer breast cancer cell resistance to endocrine therapeutics. This in turn led to a patent owned by my supervisor. Perseis Therapeutics, a biotech company, is developing antibody-based therapeutics to these and other factors that work similarly in principle,” he said.
He has received several citations and honours, including Fellowship of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, which has nominated him to its Expert Panel.
“The findings have important implication in our understanding of breast cancer origin. I am happy to share the findings with my colleagues, friends and the members of the Indian community in New Zealand,” Dr Kannan said.
