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RESEARCH TEAM

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CTCR Senior Leadership

Dr-CB-Koppiker

Dr. C . B. Koppiker

Medical Director & Managing Trustee, PCCM
Principal Investigator at CTCR

Dr. Koppiker, is a Breast Oncosurgeon and the Medical Director, Orchids Breast Health Center, Pune. He is also the Director, Department of Oncosciences, Jehangir Hospital, Pune. Dr. Koppiker has a keen interest to explore the translational aspect in breast cancer to pave way for novel population specific management strategies. He is a pioneer of Breast Oncoplasty in India and has established the International School of Breast Oncoplasty in collaboration with University of East Anglia (UEA), UK. His primary interests lie in oncoplastic surgery for breast cancers, translational breast cancer research and TNBCs. He has many publications in national and international journals

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Prof-LS-Shashidhara

Prof L. S. Shashidhara

Director at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS),
Professor at Ashoka University and IISER Pune

Dr. L.S. Shashidhara is a Professor at Ashoka University and IISER Pune. His research work in cancer biology, genetics, cell and developmental biology has generated numerous high-impact publications and book chapters. He is recognized with CSIR Technology Award, SS Bhatnagar Prize and JC Bose National Fellowship and is a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy; National Academy of Sciences, India; and Indian Academy of Sciences. He has been elected as Vice-President of Indian National Science Academy and Secretary General of International Union of Biological Sciences. Recently, Prof Shashidhara was elected as Associate member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), a coveted international recognition for excellence in research in life sciences.

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Ms-Laleh-Busheri

Ms. Laleh Busheri

CEO, PCCM, Pune
Administrative Head, CTCR

Ms. Busheri is the CEO of PCCM. With her passion and acumen for social work, Ms. Busheri is instrumental in making PCCM provide free or affordable diagnosis, breast cancer treatment, patient support, and rehabilitation to breast cancer patients and their families from various social and financial strata. She is responsible for full administrative support at CTCR and also oversees the working of the Biobank. She  initiated the Biobank project with the vision that tissue repositories with annotated  patient data have been proven to be of immense importance to understand cancer profiles and identify targeted and personalized therapies

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CTCR-PCCM Faculty

Dr-Sneha-Joshi

Dr. Sneha Joshi

Senior Scientist, CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Joshi is the Senior Scientist at CTCR-PCCM.  She received her M.Sc from the University of Pune and obtained her Ph.D in Immunology from Rutgers University, NJ, USA. She completed her post-doctoral training at Columbia University, NY, USA in Osteoimmunology with a focus on Leukemia blasts. Apart from regular paper publications her research in collaboration with Stanford Medical School, focusing on the role of Vitamin D3 in ameliorating Th17 Autoimmunity went on to get press released. 

At CTCR-PCCM she leads and manages the research department and the clinical research projects. Her current ongoing projects involve assessing the oncological and cosmetic outcomes of oncoplastic surgeries. She also spearheads various multidisciplinary collaborative projects related to breast cancer. Additionally, she also supervises the capacity-building vertical of PCCM-CTCR including the research projects for Masters in Oncoplasty Program that runs in association with University of East Anglia. She also handles all the activities related to the e-learning platform BreastGlobal and its associated journal as well as the new launched RT-PCR course.

Dr-Madhura-Kulkarni

Dr. Madhura Kulkarni

Senior Scientist, CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Kulkarni is a Senior Scientist and DBT-Ramalingaswami Fellow at PCCM-CTCR. Dr. Kulkarni leads the design and conduct of research on molecular profiling of infiltrating ductal carcinoma for novel prognostic and therapeutic targets. She is a gold medalist for MSc from the University of Pune and has obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from University of Maryland, College Park, USA. During her post-doctoral work at MGH-Harvard Medical School, USA and Cancer Science Institute, Singapore; she has gained extensive experience in cancer biology and translational research specifically pertaining to breast cancer. Her work has been published in many high impact international journals. Dr. Kulkarni has received the prestigious ‘re-entry’ Ramalingaswami fellowship from the Department of Biotechnology, India to set-up a laboratory in India. She leads and manages the FFPE Breast tissue biobank set-up at CTCR-PCCM and has also initiated the frozen tissue biobank at CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Aijaz Ul Noor

Senior scientist
CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Aijaz Ul Noor is a senior scientist at CTCR-PCCM with a rich scientific background. He received pre-doctoral training at NCBS, Bangalore, under Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, and at Laval University with Prof. Jacques Cote. He earned his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Kashmir. Dr. Noor’s postdoctoral work took place at SKIMS, Ohio State University, and FMRI, Gurugram. He has collaborated with renowned laboratories, including those of Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas (Harvard University), Steven Gygi (Harvard University), Susan Celniker (Berkeley Laboratory) and Cellzome Gmbh. His research contributions are published in numerous national and international journals.

At CTCR-PCCM, his research focuses on establishing a clinical database, breast cancer genomics, and assessing surgical approaches to improve diagnosis, treatment, and patient quality of life (QoL).

Dr.-Rupa-Mishra

Dr. Rupa Mishra

Senior Scientist, CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Mishra is a senior scientist at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission. She received her M.Sc from the University of Pune and obtained her Ph.D in Cancer Biology from ACTREC-TMC. She pursued her post-doctoral training at IISER-Pune where she worked on understanding DNA damage response and cell migration in breast cancers. 

At CTCR-PCCM she focuses on Genetics related projects and manages the genetic counselling and genetic testing offered at the centre. She is currently working on projects relating to germline mutational profiling of breast cancer subtypes. She also works on various multidisciplinary collaborative projects related to breast cancer. Additionally, she is actively involved in the activities of the e-learning platform BreastGlobal and its associated journal as well as the newly launched RT-PCR course.

CTCR-IISER Faculty

Mayurika Lahiri

Dr. Mayurika Lahiri, PhD

CTCR-IISER

Dr. Mayurika Lahiri is an Associate Professor at IISER, Pune. She graduated from the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. She joined Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA as a postdoctoral research associate. She later moved to the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, USA as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr Lahiri joined IISER, Pune in 2008. Her laboratory has focused on exploring the role of genome instability during breast cancer initiation, progression and pathogenesis using the 3D breast acinar model.

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KundanSengupta

Dr. Kundan Sengupta

CTCR-IISER

Dr. Kundan Sengupta received his B.Sc and MSc in Microbiology from Bangalore University. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Mumbai. Following that he was a Postdoctoral and Research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA. Currently, he is a professor (Biology) & Associate Dean (International Relations and Outreach) at IISER, Pune. He is also Scientific Member of Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA), Life Member of Society of Biological Chemists of India (SBCI) and Life Member of Indian Association of Cancer Research (IACR). He is closely working with CTCR/PCCM to develop affordable diagnostics for breast cancers.

CTCR Team Members and Research Fellows

Pooja-Vaid

Pooja Vaid

Ph.D fellow, CTCR-IISER

Pooja Vaid is a Ph.D. scholar at Ashoka University, Sonepat, working under the guidance of Prof L.S. Shashidhara and Dr Madhura Kulkarni. She got her master’s degree in Biotechnology, post which she was trained in Drosophila genetics, using flies as a tumor model. Her thesis work focuses on uncovering the unique cellular and molecular profile of Indian triple-negative breast cancers with prognostic implications. She is also interested in delineating the tumor immune microenvironment modulating the treatment response. Outside the lab, she spends her free time baking and reading.

Purva Sharma

Purva Sharma

Onco-nutritionist, CTCR-PCCM

Purva Sharma is a clinical dietitian with a master’s degree from Symbiosis International University. She is Onco-nutritionist at CTCR. She has published a review paper in the Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. She believes healthy food is the most accessible and sustainable health investment.

Pranali Kanase

Pranali Kanase

Senior Clinical Data Coordinator, CTCR-PCCM

Pranali is a Senior clinical data coordinator at CTCR. She has completed her graduation in Microbiology from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. Following that, she completed a postgraduate diploma in clinical research, data management and pharmacovigilance. Currently, she manages and curates the clinical data at CTCR.

V.Gomathi

V.Gomathi

Research Assistant,
CTCR-IISER

Gomathi received her Integrated MSc degree in Cell and Molecular Biology from Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. She did her master’s thesis under the guidance of Dr.Madhura Kulkarni at CTCR, Pune, on the project titled “Analysis of Yes-associated protein-1 (YAP1) target gene-signature to predict progressive breast cancer”. Currently, she is working as a research assistant at CTCR, Pune, with Dr.Madhura to understand the prognostic significance of YAP1 in the Indian breast cancer cohort and on the DBT-funded project titled ‘YAP function in growth factor receptor signalling in mammary epithelial cells during growth control and tumorigenesis’.

Jisha John

Jisha John

Senior Genetic Data Coordinator, CTCR-PCCM

Jisha is a Senior Genetic data coordinator at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission and is working on projects related to the genetics of Breast Cancer. She also works closely with the genetic counsellor, organizes Genetic counseling sessions, curates, analyses, and manages genetic data. She is a gold medalist from Women’s Christian College, where she received her B.Sc. in Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology. She pursued her M.Sc. in Human Genetics from Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai. Her dissertation project was focused on the cell death mechanism of a Siddha formulation in Breast Cancer Cells.

Aadya-Atreya

Aadya Atreya

Research Assistant,
CTCR-IISER

Aadya received her BSc in Biotechnology from Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan.Following that, she completed her MSc in Molecular Medicine from Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Currently, she is working as a Research Assistant on a DST funded project titled “Investigation of YAP driven tumorigenesis by promoter proximal pausing”.

Chitra-Nair

Chitra Nair

Project Assistant,
CTCR-IISER

Chitra got her master’s degree from Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. She did her masters’ thesis in the field of oral cancer with Dr. Ratika Shrivastava at MSU, Baroda. Previously, she worked at Borek IT Sourcing Pvt Ltd as an Image Annotator for EM images of Drosophila melanogaster neurons. Currently, she is working as a project assistant in the DBT funded project to study the function of YAP in growth factor receptor signalling in breast cancer and their role in growth control and tumorigenesis.

Khushi Salvi

Project Assistant,
CTCR-IISER

Khushi did her undergrad in Biochemistry from St. Xavier’s, Ahmedabad. She was appointed as COO for a student based entrepreneurial venture of plant tissue culture called In-XITU during the final year of her bachelor’s. She persuaded her master’s studies in Biochemistry from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. Her master’s thesis focused on glycogen metabolism in liver of PCOS mouse model. At CTCR, she is work on a project with Dr. Madhura Kulkarni on ‘YAP function in growth factor receptor signaling in mammary epithelial cells during growth control and tumorigenesis.’

Dr. Kainat Moosa

Dr. Kainat Moosa

Publications & Communication Manager, CTCR- PCCM

Dr. Kainat Moosa is the Publications and Communications Manager for Prashanti Cancer Care Mission. She is a skilled homeopathic practitioner and a proficient medical content writer. At CTCR-PCCM, her focus is on producing scientific and medical manuscripts, book chapters, and protocols that pertain to breast cancer management and oncoplastic surgery. In addition, Dr. Moosa takes care of the Breast Global platform and the journal by developing and managing content, and also updates the CTCR and Breast Global websites and social media pages.

Dr. Namrata Athavale

Dr. Namrata Athavale

Physician Assistant,
CTCR- PCCM

She is a Homoepathic doctor, with academic background as MD Homoeopathy. She was practicing as a Homoeopathic consultant at Shatayu Homoeopathy Clinic and Athavale Dental Clinic for past 10 years. Before starting clinical practice, she got a chance to expand her clinical knowledge in the field of General surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Dermatology, ENT, Medicine. Also, she has elaborate experience working in the field of Dentistry. Now, she is working as a Physician Assistant from May 2023, at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission/Orchid’s Breast Health In field of Breast Cancer.

Dr. Priya Sivadasan

Dr. Priya Sivadasan

Research Scientist,
CTCR- PCCM

Dr. Priya Sivadasan is a Research scientist at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission. She received her M.Sc degree in Biotechnology from Kannur University, Kerala and obtained her Ph.D. in Head and Neck Oncology from Mazumdar shaw Centre for Translational Research, Bangalore, where she worked on Salivary transcriptome and proteome for the diagnosis and prognosis of Oral cancer. Her work on Salivary biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Oral cancer got patented as well. Following that, she pursued Training course in Science Journalism, and Post graduate diploma in Intellectual Property Rights. At CTCR-PCCM she is involved in conducting research projects focused on breast cancer, understanding its molecular mechanisms and identifying biomarkers, collaborate with clinicians, manuscript writing and grants writing.

Dr. Vaibhav Jain

Research Data Coordinator
CTCR-PCCM

Dr. Vaibhav Jain is a Research Data Coordinator at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission. He has a master’s degree in hospital & healthcare administration from Symbiosis International University and has certifications in Data Analysis from ExcelR Edtech, Bengaluru and Data Visualization from IBM. He has prior experience of working as a Consultant in National Health Mission (M.P.) and in a New Delhi based research organization conducting collaborative, multi-disciplinary studies on high priority global health issues. Currently, overseeing the data within clinical & research databases, essentially updating and managing the databases, and developing Python-based solutions to automate the data management related processes.

Ms. Sneha Bhandari

Clinical Data Coordinator
CTCR-PCCM

Sneha Bhandari is a Clinical Data Coordinator at CTCR-PCCM. She has completed her bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy and has six years of experience working as a Pharmacy in charge at PCCM. Following that, she completed her Post Graduation in Clinical Research at Symbiosis College in Pune. At CTCR-PCCM, Ms. Bhandari manages and curates the clinical data.

SmeetaNare

Smeeta Nare

Nurse In-charge and Clinical Data Co-ordinator , CTCR-PCCM

Smeeta obtained a B.Sc in Nursing from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, and finished a Certificate course in clinical research. She is in a dual role as a Breast Health Clinical assistant and clinical data coordinator. She is responsible for OPD-Counselling patients on various aspect of their treatment and acts as a liaison between clinic and research departments for co-ordinating clinical data for clinical, epidemiological and biological research projects. 

Ms. Vishesha Lulla

Psychologist
CTCR-PCCM

Ms. Vishesha is a psychologist and has her specialisations in the clinical field. She has versatile experience working with patients of HTN, DM, CRDs, etc. She plays the role of an onco-psychologist at PCCM. She has a cheerful personality and is an empath. She believes in creating a safe space for every person and is working hard in making mental health a priority.

Ms. Christina Matthew

Genetics Data Coordinator PCCM-CTCR

Ms. Matthew is a Genetics Data Coordinator at Prashanthi Cancer Care Mission, specializing in coordinating genetic counseling for breast cancer patients and their families with a focus on addressing psychosocial needs and managing grief. She also curates, analyzes, and manages genetics and clinical data, contributing to various genetics-related projects. Christina holds an MSc in Biomedical Genetics with a specialization in Genetic Counseling and is BGCI certified. Her experience in pre-test counseling for adult oncology cases has provided her with valuable insights and the skills necessary to offer optimal patient support as a Genetics Data Coordinator.

Aditya-Kamthe

Mr. Aditya Kamthe

PCCM-CTCR HR and Manager

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