Atham Ali Email & Phone Number

Pasadena, Ca, Us

Pasadena, California, United States

Los Angeles, California, United States

My research proposal looks to study the potential therapeutic effect observed when targeting two distinct receptors in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells, one of which being FLT3. Using elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) and fusing them to single chain variable fragments (scFv) we generated a fusion protein with the ability to mediate antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity to leukemic cells. FLT3 is a receptor expressed on hematopoietic stem cells, due to an internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutation occurring in the juxtamembrane domain of the receptor, a constitutively activated tyrosine kinase receptor is generated that increases the activity in pro-proliferative and cell growth pathways. Patients inflicted with this type of FLT3 mutation have shown to have poor clinical outcome. We've found that patients with this mutant exhibit an overexpression of a distinct receptor, making it a novel target to be used in the treatment of FLT3-ITD+ AML. My project aims to showcase the therapeutic benefit associated to a dual targeting strategy, exploiting both receptors for therapeutic gain. Fusing an ELP to scFv was done to subvert many of the challenges associated to antibody-based drug discovery and delivery. Economically scFv’s are a much better alternative compared to monoclonal antibodies. However, the downside to scFv is their size. Due to their size being around 25 kDa they are readily filtered out of living organisms due to glomerular filtration. Fusing an scFv to an ELP not only increases its size but discourages glomerular filtration and ensures proper activity in living organisms. This tactic also serves to increase the pharmacokinetic parameters such as half-life for our construct which in turn means a reduced dose can achieve a favorable therapeutic effect. Targeting both receptors can increase the specificity of our treatment but also illustrate an additive or synergistic effect. My proposal looks to solve the current limitations observed in FLT3-ITD+ AML.

United States

My lab has developed a new method for analyzing such in vitro functional data so that estimates of the affinities of ligands for active and inactive receptor states can be obtained. An advantage of this approach is the estimates of receptor-state affinities are unperturbed by receptor-coupling proteins and events downstream in the signaling pathway. My research goal is to determine whether the estimate of active receptor-state affinity, measured in functional assays on isolated atria, agrees with that measured in a binding assay on the myocardium in various different types of conditions.

San Juan Capistrano, California

I examine the efficacy of a vaccine on green monkey cells, which can potentially treat individuals infected with the Dengue Virus. The Dengue Virus is a mosquito borne viral disease that can cause high fevers, joint pain, and other complications. I use the serum of patients who have been administered the vaccine for this virus and observe the effectiveness of the vaccine by testing the patients serum, which we then transfer to green monkey cells. I then add the virus into the assay and test the effectiveness of the serum to protect the green monkey cells from getting infected by the virus. I then fix the cells onto the monolayer with acetone. Subsequently, I stain the cells in order to observe and count the infected plaques. From my observations, I am able to locate the 50% titer, which informs me about the efficacy of the vaccine. Our research can help Pharmaceutical companies better develop and tailor a vaccine that can better protect those who are at risk of coming into contact with the Dengue Virus. The research I do can also help better inform us on the effectiveness of the vaccine and how humans react to it.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Public Health Science