Pavithran R
- Research Program Mentor
MD/PhD candidate at University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
Expertise
Cell signaling, cancer biology, mathematical modeling of biochemical networks, cancer immunotherapy
Bio
I am a bio-engineer by training and am currently an MD/PhD student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. I obtained my BSE degree from Princeton University in the summer of 2019. My research interests range from developing gene circuits to implement user-defined functions in cells, mathematical modeling of networks to understand how they work, optogenetics to control cell signaling and Cas9 based assays. My research has resulted in 10 peer-reviewed publications and few more are in preparation.Project ideas
Mathematical models of synthetic receptors for cancer therapy
In this project you will explore the blooming field of synthetic receptors to target cancer. We will utilize mathematical modeling to understand what parameters can be tuned to allow for the most selectivity and sensitivity.
Foundations of cellular therapies
In this project, you will survey the blooming field of cell-based therapies and explore the ways engineers are learning to make cells perform specific functions. You will write a scientific research paper in the style of Trends in Cancer or create a more fun way to explore your newfound knowledge.
Foundations of CRISPR-screening
In this project, you will survey the blooming field of CRISPR-screening and utilizing Cas9 to do high-throughput assays. You will write a scientific research paper in the style of Nature Biotechnology or create a more fun way to explore your newfound knowledge.
Cancer screening modalities
Cancer is a disease that, when caught early, actually has good outcomes. The tricky thing, however, is that for many forms of cancer, finding specific ways to identify cancer in the early stages is very difficult. Technologies to advance cancer screening are blossoming into amazing ways to find even the most minute traces of cancer.