E-Paper
MicroRNAs may help find targeted therapy for cancer: Geneticist
Prof Shukla pointed out that in recent years the cases of prostatic cancer have been rising in India.
Eminent scientist and a professor at Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD) of Cleveland State University, USA, Girish Shukla has said that the small MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may hold the key to finding a targeted therapy for cancer in future. miRNAs are a class of non-coding Ribonucleic acids or RNAs found in the body that play important roles in regulating gene expression,
Speaking as the keynote speaker at a national seminar on ‘Novel Therapeutics: Relevance to Cancer’ organised by the department of biochemistry, Allahabad University, on Tuesday, Prof Shukla gave a lucid presentation on the novel and upcoming interventions which have potential to target cancerous cells.
Prof Shukla who has done seminal work on prostate cancer and is a leading scientist in this area pointed out that in recent years the cases of prostatic cancer have been rising in India. It is the second highest cause of cancer death in the USA as well, he said.
Earlier, the seminar started with Prof SI Rizvi, dean, research and development, AU, giving a brief overview of the seminar and also elaborating the series of lectures planned at University of Allahabad on the theme of ‘Novel Therapeutics’.
The dean, faculty of science, Prof Shekhar Srivastava welcomed the guests. The head of the biochemistry department Prof B Sharma spoke at length on the grey areas in cancer research and introduced the keynote speaker.
The seminar, sponsored by the department of biotechnology, government of India, was attended by a large number of postgraduate and research students from the departments of biochemistry, zoology and biotechnology. Other speakers who also spoke during the seminar include Rabbind Singh, Gaurav Majumdar and Prateek Kumar.
