Volume 33, No 2 President Sarfraz Ahmad, PhD, FABAP, FACB Director of Clinical Research, Gynecologic Oncology Florida Hospital Cancer Institute Associate Professor, University of Central Florida Clinical Associate Professor, Florida State University 2501 N. Orange Ave., Suite 800 Orlando, FL 32804 Tell: 407-312-2766; Fax: 407-303-2435 Email: [email protected]

NEWSLETTER

February, 2015

WWW.ASIOA.ORG

Secretary Kameswara Rao Badri, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Biology Savannah State University Box 20600, 3219 College Street Savannah, GA 31404 Tell: 912-358-4427; Fax: 912-358-4930 Email [email protected] [email protected] Dear members of ASIOA family,

Greetings. I am glad to inform you that the 6th Biannual National Meeting concluded successfully. The Executive Officer organization committee worked tirelessly to make this K.N. Dileepan, MSc, PhD national meeting a great success. I thank all the members Professor of Medicine of Organizing Committee and the participants for your Director,  Cellular & Molecular Immunology Laboratory invaluable contributions and making this meeting a grand Division of Allergy, Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology success. I thank Dr. Vinay Kumar for his keynote University of Kansas Medical Center presentation, Dr. Pudur Jagadeeswaran and Dr. Masarrat Kansas City, KS 66160-2026 Ali for plenary lectures and Dr. Chellu S. Chetty for Grants E Mail; [email protected] Writing Workshop. I thank Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad for hosting Telephone:  913-588-3818 (Office) the meeting in a such a beautiful and joyful city. We are immensely thankful to the members of the Awards Council Members Committee Dr. Riyaz Basha, Dr. Samina Salim and Dr. Biswanath Patra, PhD ([email protected]) Karni Singh Moshal, PhD ([email protected]) Gauthami Jalagadugula. We extend our gratitude to session Chair’s/Co-Chair’s for their moderation. No doubt Sree L. Aramgam, MSc ([email protected]) Nagaraju Ganji, Ph.D (New, [email protected]) members and their families had fun time visiting places while enjoying science. The organization extends its Gauthami Jalagadugula, PhD sincere gratitude to the friends, families and members of (New, [email protected]) the ASIOA for their support. Past President Satya Kunapuli, PhD In this newsletter please find the solicitation for 215-707-4615 [email protected]

Past Secretary Meena Kumari, Ph.D 785-532-3115

Past Executive Officer Gabriel Fernaldez, Ph.D 210-567-4663 [email protected]

nominations of ASIOA awards 2015 (page 7). I request members to self nominate or nominate eligible peers for various awards by March 18th, 2015. I also request all the members to attend 33rd Annual Meeting of ASIOA to be held in Boston on March 30th, 2015. Look forward to seeing you all at Boston. Kameswara Rao Badri, PhD Secretary

A Brief Report on the 6th National Meeting of ASIOA Orlando, FL (January 17-18, 2015) The 6th biennial National Meeting of ASIOA was successfully held during January 17-18, 2015, at the International Palms Resort &Convention Center, Orlando, Florida. For some of us, this was a long-holiday weekend marking the Martin Luther King’s Day, so we also had some leisure time with our colleagues, family and friends in a world-class tourist city. The conference drew over 65 participants from across the country, including students, guests, and volunteers.   The meeting covered most scientific topics related to biological and biomedical sciences, i.e., basic, translational, and clinical sciences. In addition to the enlightening Keynote address by Prof. Vinay Kumar (University of Chicago) at the Banquet, we had five sessions on Oral Presentations (including a Grant Writing Workshop by Prof. Chellu S. Chetty of Savannah State University), and a Poster Presentation session/competition. We also had a couple of invited Plenary Lectures (by Prof. Pudur Jagadeeswaran of University of North Texas, and Dr. Masarrat Ali of Alpha Diagnostics International Inc.). For details of the program, please visit our website www.asioa.org.   The meeting started on Saturday afternoon with Registration, Welcome, and Poster Presentations/ Competition followed by a Banquet where large number of delegates were present. After the Welcoming Remarks by the ASIOA President and Secretory, the enlightening Keynote Lecture was delivered by Prof. Vinay Kumar. In appreciations to their longstanding contributions to the organization, Plaques were presented to Prof. Vinay Kumar, Prof. Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Prof. Chellu S. Chetty, and Dr. Masarrat Ali. These distinguished/recognized individuals also gave short speeches with regards to their past experiences and future perspectives/vision about ASIOA. Buffet-style sumptuous dinner was served, which was catered through an Indian restaurant that everyone enjoyed most. There was also a light entertainment program (Indian Classical Music & Ghazal), voluntarily performed by the two local young students (Sankalp Govardhan and Prathyush Govardhan Brothers) who mesmerized us with Tabla and Violin, followed by a Ghazal-song by Mr. Usman Siddharth.   The Sunday full-day event started with continental breakfast and Oral Presentations. Throughout the day, we have had five Oral Presentation sessions with lunch and coffee breaks. The sessions were highly interactive and stimulating as lots of Q&A and deliberations were going on throughout the day (even during the lunch and coffee breaks). The sumptuous lunch was catered through the same Indian restaurant. The conference ended with the Closing Remarks by several senior members of ASIOA followed by Vote of Thanks by the Secretary. Several competitive awards were presented at the National Meeting, which were Judged by a Committee, based on the quality of science and presentation skills. The award winners in various categories are listed below:

Award Winners

ORAL PRESENTATIONS  Young Scientists/Junior Faculty Category 1st Prize - Dr. Nagaraju P. Ganji (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)   Postdoctoral Fellows Category 1st Prize – Shared by: Dr. Richa Bajpai (University of Connecticut HS Center, FarmingtonCT), and Dr. Rama P. Kotipatruni (Washington University SOM, St. Louis, MO) 2nd Prize – Dr. Estari Mamidala (University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA)   Undergraduate Student Category 1st Prize – Mr. Dontre’ M. Douse (Savannah State University, Savannah, GA) 2nd Prize – Mr. Imraan Ali (Alpha Diagnostic International Inc., San Antonio, TX)   POSTER PRESENTATIONS  Postdoctoral Fellows Category 1st Prize – Dr. Sivanesan Dhandayuthapani (Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL) 2nd Prize – Shared by: Dr. Thanigaivelan Kanagasabai (Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL), and Dr. Thiagarajan Venkatesan (Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL)   Undergraduate Student Category 1st Prize – Ms. Pooja Patel (SSU, Savannah, GA)   High School Category 1st Prize – Shared by: Mr. Chanukya Badri (H.V. Jenkins High School, Savannah, GA), and Mr. Shrikar Iragavarapu (Savannah County Day School, Savannah, GA) Kudos to all Award Winner’s. The overall impression and comments that the organizers received from the participants so far is that “we all had a great professional meeting and organizers have taken it to a higher level”. We appreciate everyone’s efforts and contributions, and look forward to strengthening our interactions and future activities.

Highlights of 6th National Meeting

Highlights of 6th National Meeting

Organizing & Scientific Committee Sarfraz Ahmad, PhD, FABAP, FACB (President) Kameswara Rao Badri, PhD (Secretary) K.N.Dileepan, PhD (Executive Officer)

Biswanath Patra, PhD Karni Singh Moshal, PhD Sreelatha Aramgam, MSc Nagaraju P. Ganji, PhD Gauthami Jalagadugula, PhD

Highlights of 6th National Meeting

We are grateful to…. Keynote Speaker: Prof. Vinay Kumar Plenary Lectures: Prof. Jagadeeswaran Pudur Dr. Masarrat Ali Grant Writing Workshop: Dr. Chellu S. Chetty Session I Chairs; Prof. Pudur Jagadeeswaran & Dr. Shadab A. Siddiqi Session ii Chairs; Dr. Masarrat Ali & Dr. Kameswara Rao Badri Session III Chairs; Dr. Riyaz Basha & Dr. Appu Rathinavelu Session IV Chairs; Dr. Sarika Gupta & Dr. Samina Salim

ASIOA 2015 Awards – Solicitation for Nominations ASIOA is delighted to announce its 2015 annual awards. Nominations are invited from ASIOA members for the following awards. Awards will be presented at Experimental Biology 2015 (Boston) on Monday, March 30th (details will follow). 1.  ASIOA Service Award: This award will be given to a member of ASIOA, who has rendered outstanding service to the Association. 2.  Mario Toppo Distinguished Scientist Award: This award is given to an established senior scientist of Indian Origin, who has made outstanding scientific contribution to the sciences. 3.  Sudhir Gupta Young Scientist Award: This award is given to a scientist of Indian Origin who is 40 years or younger and has made exceptional contributions to science. 4.  Junior Scientist Awards: These awards will be given to postdoctoral or predoctoral fellows of Indian Origin. Six awards under this category includes… a.  American Radiolabeled Chemical Junior Scientist Award in Pharmacology b.  Biotex Laboratories Junior Scientist Award in Immunology c.  JOGUE Junior Scientist Award in Nutrition d.  Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Junior Scientists Award in Molecular Biology e.  Satu Somani Junior Scientist Award in Physiology f.  Gopal Krishna Memorial Junior Scientist Award in Biochemistry vHow to Apply: Nominations for these categories should be made and seconded by ASIOA members in good standing. For Junior Scientist category, mentors who may or may not be ASIOA members can make nominations. Abstracts submitted to Experimental Biology-2015 as a first author may also be considered for the Junior Scientist Awards by Awards Committee. vPlease send the nominations and supporting documents by email by March 18th, 2015 to Dr. Gauthami Jalagadugula ([email protected]). Five member Awards committee chaired by Prof. Ulhas P. Naik may decide not to confer an award in any category if suitable candidate(s) cannot be identified. vThe awards are open for ASIOA members. Please nominate yourself or by an ASIOA member for any of these awards category and submit the following documents to be considered by the awards committee on or before March 18th, 2015 (no exceptions). 1. Curriculum Vitae, brief summary of your scientific contributions and ASIOA membership details. 2. The abstract (for pre- and post-doctoral awards and/or your presentation title at Experimental Biology 2015 meeting or any other national meetings) 3. Two reference letters from ASIOA members.

ASIOA Distinguished Scientist in NCI Spotlight

Dr Veena N. Rao who is the recipient of the 2011 Mario Toppo Distinguished Scientist Award from the  Association of Scientists of Indian Origin in America (ASIOA) was selected to be one of the NCI (National Cancer Institute) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) monthly (October is Breast cancer awareness month) Spotlighted investigators. Her BRCA1 research on Breast cancer in African American Women is spotlighted live on the NCI CRCHD website.  See the link below. She thanks the leadership and all the members of ASIOA for their tireless effort as this would not have been possible without their support.    http://crchd.cancer.gov/news/spotlights/grantee-spotlights_rao.html Veena N. Rao, Ph.D. Morehouse School of Medicine Unraveling the Mysteries of BRCA1 in African American Women   *Originally published for the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities.  Click here to be directed to the original feature story.    Unraveling the mysteries of the  BRCA1 gene  and its role in breast and ovarian cancer in diverse populations has guided the research of Dr. Veena N. Rao, a  CRCHD PACHE U54  grantee. Her other passion is training diverse scholars in cancer health disparities research.     Rao is a Professor and Co-Director of the Cancer Biology Program and Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar in the Department of OB/GYN at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past 20 years, Rao has been investigating the inner workings of the BRCA1 gene which has been linked to breast and ovarian cancer, including triple negative breast cancers that are more prevalent in African American women. Triple negative breast cancers are highly aggressive and have higher rates of metastasis. There are currently no targeted treatments for this type of breast cancer. Rao explains that the “the primary function of the BRCA genes is to repair cell damage and keep breast cells growing normally. But when these genes contain abnormalities or mutations that are passed from generation to generation, the gene products do not function normally – and the risk for breast cancer increases substantially.” She continued, “But when an African American woman has triple negative breast cancer as a result of a mutation of BRCA1, this mutant protein stays in the cytoplasm and can develop into a tumor.” Simply put, Rao said, “If the cancer can be detected early, we can break the disparity between African Americans and whites.”  Rao’s team was the first to find evidence that BRCA1a induces cell death in breast cancer cells. They were also the first to introduce BRCA1a into triple negative breast cancer by gene therapy, successfully blocking tumor development in mice. In addition to breast and ovarian cancer, Rao believes abnormalities in the BRCA1 gene may also play a role in other diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Rao has been awarded five U.S. patents for her research which includes a recent patent for BRCA1 function based assays to develop targeted therapy for TNBC.

ASIOA Distinguished Scientist in NCI Spotlight continued…. Rao’s love of science began in the ninth grade when her teacher persuaded her to write a science paper, but she attributes much of her interest in research to her father who was an electrical engineer, as well as her mother who consistently read her books at a very early age on Marie Curie and presently she derives her inspiration from the life of Helen Keller. Part of Rao’s U54 grant is her promise to bridge the scientific gap by bringing minority students into scientific careers. Since coming to Morehouse in 2002, numerous students have worked in her laboratory from high school students, undergraduate, graduate, medical students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and clinicians. Rao advises her students that there are three things you need to be a good scientist. “It’s about passion, it’s about honesty and most importantly science consists of hard work,” she said. Outside of her work, Rao has also contributed to diversity awareness. When she lived in Pennsylvania, she developed a multicultural program in her child’s school district to teach children about different cultures and allow them to appreciate the diversity in their community. When her family moved to Georgia, she introduced the same multicultural program to her new school district.   Rao received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Osmania University, India. Some of her Ph.D. work was done at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, University of Edinburgh, Scotland and MIT, Boston, MA. She completed postdoctoral work in the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University School of Medicine. From 1985-1987, Rao worked as a Fogarty International fellow in the Laboratory of Molecular Oncology at the NCI. Rao received her B.S. in Chemistry/Biology and a Master’s of Science in Biochemistry from Osmania University, India. In April of 2011, Rao became the first woman scientist to receive the Mario Toppo Distinguished Scientist Award from the ASIOA. She was also selected to receive the 2007 National Women of Color in Technology Research Leadership award.  She is a recipient of the 2006 Trail Blazer award by Minorities in Research, Science Spectrum Magazine and the 2005 Emerald's Honor Senior Investigator award. Rao is also the 2003 recipient of the Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar Award, for spearheading numerous breakthroughs in breast cancer research and plans on continuing combatting this deadly disease through her research for years to come.

Join ASIOA, Inc Renew your memberships Pay membership dues via PayPal (see instructions below) and complete Membership Application Form given in the next page. Payment: Copy paste the  following PayPal link  to web browser…..  https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_xclick&business=asioa2015%40gmail %2ecom&lc=US&item_name=Conference %20Registration&button_subtype=services¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dBuyNowBF %3abtn_buynowCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted Enter Item Price (Total Conference Registration Fee/s) Click on Update Go to Right Side of the Screen either to pay by PayPal account or follow “don’t have PayPal account” icon/ link  to pay by credit/debit card. Send your scanned membership application forms (see next page) by email to Dr. Badri, Secretary, ASIOA Inc at [email protected]. Please direct all your correspondence and inquiries to Dr. Kameswara Rao Badri ([email protected]) or Phone: 630-890-4326.

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 ASIOA Member Prof. Samba Reddy Elected as AAPS Fellow San Diego (November 2, 2014): Dr. Samba Reddy, professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at Texas A&M University College of Medicine, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), a lifetime recognition and the highest professional honor of achievement in pharmaceutical field. The award was presented by the AAPS President Dr. Marilyn Morris at the 2014 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego on November 2, 2014.The AAPS recognizes outstanding researchers with a Fellow designation. Dr. Reddy, a renowned expert In neurotherapeutics, was selected on the basis of “professional excellence as exemplified by a sustained level of superior and distinguished contributions that have a substantial impact in the pharmaceutical field”. Dr. Reddy joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2008 and was previously honored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the Fellow Award for Research Excellence for the year 2000. He is internationally respected for his contributions to neurotherapeutics, neurosteroid mechanisms, and new treatments for epilepsy and brain diseases. His work is centered on finding better medications for treatment of brain disorders such as epilepsy, brain injury, and chemical neurotoxicity.   He has made pioneering contributions that include development of a neurosteroid-replacement therapy for epilepsy, new epilepsy medication ganaxolone, and tonic inhibition therapy for persistent seizures and neurotoxicity. He successfully designed many model systems, treatment strategies, and first-in-class agents for complex brain disorders. He has published 120 papers, authored 6 books, and has made over 150 presentations worldwide. Dr. Reddy serves as an expert member in federal committees in Washington such as NIH, DOD, and the United States pharmacopeia (USP). He is an editor-in-chief of an international pharmaceutical journal. He obtained a pharmacy degree and doctorate in pharmacology prior to special postdoctoral training at NIH. Dr. Reddy is a life-member of ASIOA. Congratulations to Dr. Reddy for this prestigious award and bringing honors to the Indian community.

ASIOA MEMBER IN THE NEWS

  Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad, ASIOA President and Director of Clinical Research at Gynecologic Oncology Department, Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, Orlando, FL, has recently been inducted as Member of Editorial Board of the Indian Journal of Experimental Biology (IJEB) for a 3-years term staring from January, 2015. The IJEB is a monthly peer-reviewed SCI- and PubMed-indexed primary research Journal published by India’s premier Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)’s National Institute of Science Communication & Information Resources (NISCAIR), New Delhi. The Journal has been consistently publishing scholarly articles since 1963.