Biotherapeutics & Nanobiotechnology: Drug Development in Brain Trauma, Alzheimer & Cancer: Expert & Consultant

Expertise

• Recombinant antibodies (scFv, Fab), immunotoxins and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC), targeting characterization and pre-clinical testing in animal models.
• Expression, purification and characterization of biotherapeutics and testing in cancer xenografts in mice.
• Combinatorial phage library screening in disease models of cancer, brain diseases (Alzheimer’s, Traumatic Brain Injury) and drug-resistant bacterial infections.
• Transitional medicine with focus to protein therapeutics and nanobiotechnology.
• Protein therapeutics and drug delivery working with internationally markets (Asia, Europe and U.S.A.).
• Nanoparticle based targeted-drug delivery of chemotherapeutics and antisense oligonucleotides.
• Supporting biotech startups developing peptide-targeted therapeutics for brain diseases.
• Deliver cytotoxic payloads using antibody-targeted drug delivery systems.
• Experimental design and analysis of treatment studies in relevant animal models.
• Inventor of 4 patents on new class of metal-linkers for ADCs, supramolecular therapeutics and brain injury and infection targeting peptides.
• Pharmaceutical drug development, project management and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams.
• Recipient of NSF SBIR awards (Phase I & II) to develop novel agents for treating brain injuries.
• Combinatorial peptide library screening by phage display, both in vitro and in vivo.
• Pre-clinical cancer models (xenografts and orthotopic models).
• CNS disease rodent models (Alzheimer's and Traumatic brain injury).
• Drug-resistant bacterial infections (eg. MRSA), in vitro and animal models.
• Novel peptide platforms for directed drug delivery to brain injury and CNS diseases.
• Novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), their characterization and pre-clinical testing.
• Writing and securing Phase I and Phase II SBIR grants.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, CSO & Principle Investigator, 2016 - Present                                                                                                                                                                                                     

• Lead multi-discipline early-stage projects from initial concept to lead optimization in the CNS and oncology area.
• Developed novel peptides for directed delivery of therapeutics to brain injury using phage display.
• Serve as a PI on NIH and NSF grants exceeding $1 million to conduct high-throughput screening to develop novel peptide mimetics for TBI therapy. Inventor on patents on novel peptides as diagnostic and therapeutic targeting platform.
• Presented experimental data in international meetings, published scientific work in high impact journals.
• Project management, solving problems, overseeing operations as well as engaging in high-level discussions with potential pharma partners.
• Identified novel targeting peptides that specifically recognize, a peptide technology platform bringing transformative advances into the treatment of TBI, positively impact the lives of injury victims.

SBPMD, Research, 2014 - Present

Research Assistant Professor & Research Specialist

• Part of a multi-center DARPA contract to develop innovative tools for targeted-delivery of nanoparticles for therapy of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s (AD) and infectious diseases.
• Work included in vivo phage-display to screen peptide libraries, identifying new biomarkers, testing the target engagement of new peptides in pre-clinical models of AD and bacterial infections.
• Identified newly peptide probes used for imaging early AD and delivery of therapeutics with nanoparticles.
• Targeted delivery of anti-infectives to the site of bacterial infection: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has made it necessary to resort to antibiotics that have considerable toxicities.
• Employed in vivo phage screening in mice with S. aureus-induced lung infections and identified peptides that can deliver antibiotics via peptide-targeted nanoparticles.
• Collaborated with material engineers and chemists and developed a targeted-antibiotic delivery with enhanced anti-bacterial efficacy, minimizing drug dose and side effects.
• Therapeutic delivery of antibiotic-carrying nanoparticles to drug-resistant infections has been published in top tier journals.

Postdoctoral Fellow, 2008 - 2011

• Novel Biomarker Discovery in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Screened peptide libraries using in vivo phage display technology, successfully identified peptides that home to the pre-metastatic niches in malignant breast tumors.
• New targeting ligands and biomarkers were characterized for detecting cancer metastasis at an early stage.
• Quantitative Assays: Developed a method for the in vivo quantitation of tumor-associated antigens in xenografts published in Scientific Reports. This method has demonstrated its utility in overcoming the limitations of receptor saturation in drug-delivery applications.

Invictus Oncology, New Delhi, India, Scientist II (Project Leader), 2011 - 2014

• Development of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) for the therapy of solid tumors.
• As Project Lead oversaw multidisciplinary teams to develop novel ADCs to deliver cytotoxic payloads to solid tumors.
• Successfully secured grants to establish the platform technology, supervised junior scientists, managed 2 projects, and established the protein chemistry laboratory infrastructure.
• Work resulted in a high impact publication and also contributed to the IP portfolio worldwide patent.
• Nanoparticle based delivery of platinum-agents for cancer therapy: Developed new platinum-agents and formulations for drug delivery.
• Enhanced efficacy and reduced unspecific toxicity in pre-clinical studies resulting in one provisional patent.
• Novel platinum-agents have undergoing scale up for a clinical trial.

MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Postdoctoral Associate, 2008

Experimental Therapeutics

• Therapeutic payload development: In collaboration with Targa Therapeutics, worked with a team that successfully developed Granzyme B-based immunotoxins for cancer therapy.

University of Zurich, Biochemistry Institute, Switzerland, Doctoral Studies, 2001 - 2007

• Targeted drug delivery: Designed and generated antibody-guided nanoparticles for site-specific delivery of drugs, and antisense oligonucleotides to tumor cells.
• Demonstrated superior cytotoxic activity, improve pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and efficacy in xenograft animal models.
• Immunoconjugates for cancer therapy: Involved in the expression, purification and therapeutic application of recombinant single-chain (scFv) antibody and fusion toxins (immunoconjugates) for the therapy of solid tumors.

Honors & Publications

Languages 

• English
• German (basic)

Publications and Patents 

• Author-Co-Author of domestic and international peer reviewed journals, periodicals and Symposia Host
• Inventor and Co-Inventor of 4 patents on new class of metal-linkers for ADCs, supramolecular therapeutics and brain injury and infection targeting peptides.

Education

• Ph.D.   Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• M.S.     Biochemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
• B.S.       Biochemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India