Supervisor:
Co-supervisor:
Dr. Arunika Gunawardena
Program of Study:
PhD, Cell Biology/Phytochemistry
Project Title:
Investigating Pharmacological Mechanisms of Action of Anthocyanin-Rich Extracts from Aponogeton madagascariensis in Triple negative Breast Cancer in vitro
Research Summary:
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among Canadian women. Certain types of breast cancers are harder to treat making chemotherapy one of the only treatment options available. Certain natural products extracted from plants show promising alternatives to aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy. Anthocyanins are a natural product in many plants and display useful anti-cancer properties. I am looking at how anthocyanin-rich extracts from the Aponogeton madagascariensis plant work to kill cancer cells and how they can be used to improve the work of existing chemotherapeutic drugs. Knowing how anthocyanin-rich extracts work in cancer cells can help us understand how natural plant products can be used as an alternative to treat certain aggressive breast cancers with limited treatment options.
Scholarships and/or Awards:
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- American Society for Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics Travel Award, 2023
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- Biology Senior Learning Assistant Award, 2022
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- Canadian Botanical Association Travel Award, 2022
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- Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP) Traineeship, 2021
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- CREATE BioActives Traineeship, 2020
Location:
Dalhousie University
Publications:
Massey MDB, Arif S, Embuldeniya S, Nanglu K, Bielawski J (2022) Ten simple rules for succeeding as an underrepresented STEM undergraduate. PLOS Computational Biology 18(6): e1010101. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010101
Recent News:
Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer diagnosed in women. Given this, interest in developing novel targeted therapeutics for TNBC continues to grow. Our lab is currently researching the therapeutic benefits of natural products in TNBC. My research aims to understand the anticancer properties of natural products extracted from an aquatic plant called the lace plant. Recently, we have conducted a full metabolomic analysis of lace plant extracts to identify the exact bioactive phytoconstituents that could be therapeutically beneficial in TNBC cells. We are currently working to consolidate this data and are excited about the unlocked potential of some of these plant-bioactive natural products in developing novel cancer therapies!