I began my quest for a medical research career with bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Science and Technology, Ghana; and followed through with another masters and a doctorate in Pharmaceutics from Florida A&M University. My prior experience has groomed me to be a multidisciplinary researcher seeking to bridge the divide between fields as disparate as pharmaceutics, neurobiology and nanotechnology – my doctoral research work focused on the development of a theranostic nanovehicle capable of targeting amyloid deposits in the cerebrovasculature. The nanovehicle was designed to consist of cyclophosphamide and magnevist (Gd-DTPA) in its core with biosensor grafted on its surface that specifically recognizes and docks to amyloid plaques. These investigations form the basis of very original techniques to address issues of nanoparticle penetration of the blood brain barrier, quantifying drug release within the brain and imaging nanoparticle biodistribution and pharmacokinetics.
My extensive research experience on interaction of nanoparticles and ionizing radiation in treating pancreatic cancer as a postdoctoral fellow at Department of Radiation Oncology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX has unraveled a means of generating radiation dose enhancement using clinically relevant (low) concentrations of systemically administered bioconjugated gold nanoparticles, a finding that has tremendous translational significance. I have no doubt that I have the skills and the motivation to become a successful, independent and innovative pancreatic cancer researcher.