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RESEARCH SUMMARY:

Dr. Dixit’s current research interest involves development of effective therapeutic strategy for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). MPM is an aggressive malignancy of the lung pleural surface associated with prior asbestos exposure. MPM genomic landscape is mainly characterized by the loss of tumor suppressor genes and mutations in DNA repair genes. Dr. Dixit’s strategy is to target these driver genes of MPM pathogenesis by utilizing recently developed novel tumor suppressor microRNA based locoregional surface fill hydrogel delivery system. She is also interested in exploring molecular mechanisms involved in the anticancer action of these miRNA-hydrogel composites. Dr. dixit is also exploring anticancer efficacy of high throughput drug screening derived novel small molecule inhibitors in in-vitro and in-vivo MPM models.

AREA OF EXPERTISE:

1.Cancer Biology, 2. Cancer Drug Discovery, 3. RNAi Therapeutics, 4. Cell and Molecular Biology, 5. Vision Research 6. In-vivo Tumor Models, 7. In-vivo Models of Retinal Degeneration.

RESEARCH:

Dr. Dixit’s research projects include establishment of advance therapeutic approach against MPM by utilizing laboratory’s newly established novel microRNA based locoregional hydrogel delivery system. Her study also exploits novel small molecule inhibitors to curb down highly recalcitrant MPM tumor. The broad objectives of her current research projects are:

•    Identification of MPM specific micro-RNAs by systematic genome-wide screening using high-throughput methods. Assessing the biological function of top miRNA screening hits using human tissues, cell lines, animal models of MPM and establishment of their molecular mechanism of action.

•    Anticancer efficacy of high throughput drug screening based MPM specific small molecule inhibitors and delineation of underlying molecular mechanism.

•    Testing the efficacy of a novel peptide-based miRNA-hydrogel composite as a therapeutic approach to treat MPM in subcutaneous and orthotopic intrapleural mouse models.

PUBLICATIONS:

  1. S. Dixit, F. Polato, M. Samardzija, M. Abu-Asab, C. Grimm, S. E. Crawford and S. P. Becerra (2020). "PEDF deficiency increases the susceptibility of rd10 mice to retinal degeneration." Exp Eye Res 198: 108121.
  2. J. G. Meher, S. Dixit, Y. Singh, V. K. Pawar, R. Konwar, R. Saklani and M. K. Chourasia (2020). "Paclitaxel-Loaded Colloidal Silica and TPGS-Based Solid Self-Emulsifying System Interferes Akt/mTOR Pathway in MDA-MB-231 and Demonstrates Anti-tumor Effect in Syngeneic Mammary Tumors." AAPS PharmSciTech 21(8): 313.
  3. J. G. Meher, S. Dixit, D. K. Pathan, Y. Singh, H. Chandasana, V. K. Pawar, M. Sharma, R. S. Bhatta, R. Konwar, P. Kesharwani, and M. K. Chourasia (2018). 'Paclitaxel-loaded TPGS enriched self-emulsifying carrier causes apoptosis by modulating survivin expression and inhibits tumour growth in syngeneic mammary tumours', Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol, 46: S344-s58.
  4. M. I. Ahmad, S. Dixit, R. Konwar, P. G. Vasdev, A. K. Yadav, S. Tripathi, M. M. Gupta, A. Sharma, and A. Gupta (2017). 'Syntheses of conformationally restricted benzopyran based triarylethylenes as growth inhibitors of carcinoma cells', Bioorg Med Chem Lett, 27: 5040-45.
  5. R. Mahar, S. Dixit, T. Joshi, S. Kanojiya, D. Mishra, R. Konwar, and S. K. Shukla (2016). 'Bioactivity guided isolation of oxypregnane-oligoglycosides (Calotroposides) from the root bark of Calotropis gigantea as potent anticancer agents', RSC Adv., 6: 104215-26.

BIOGRAPHY:

During her more than 14 years of scientific research career, Dr. Dixit received comprehensive training in biomedical research and acquired awards and recognition in scientific community. Dr. Dixit received her Ph.D. degree from the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India. During her doctoral dissertation, she investigated the anticancer effect of natural/synthetic small molecules and nutraceuticals, as monotherapy and combination therapy in breast cancer. During her Ph.D. training, Dr. Dixit obtained several fellowships and awards such as Junior Research Fellowship, Senior Research Fellowship, Lectureship award by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission, Govt. of India, and best poster award for presenting her Ph.D. research in international conferences. Dr. Dixit joined NEI/ NIH as postdoctoral fellow in 2018 where she explored retino-protective effect of Pigment Epithelium Derived Factor (PEDF) and PEDF derived peptides. During her training in Vision research, she obtained Junior trainee award by FASEB Science Research Conference (SRC) in 2019 for her poster presentation. Dr. Dixit joined the team of Dr. Chuong Hoang at the Thoracic Surgery Branch/NCI in 2020 as a visiting postdoctoral fellow. In her current role, Dr. Dixit is continuing her cancer biology research and exploring effective anti-MPM therapies.