My name is Sashi Debnath and I currently work as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Radiology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. I completed my Ph.D. in Synthesis of 𝜋-conjugated Building Blocks in 2017 from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, India. During my PhD, I joined as a visiting research fellow (IUSSTF) at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2016 and developed π-conjugated radical anion polymers. After PhD, I pursued a postdoctoral fellowship from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, where my research focus represent development of polymeric nanoparticles for targeted and controlled drug delivery.
I joined as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Xiankai Sun’s team in the Department of Radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, TX) (March 2018 – present). In this position, I improved my expertise in a modern area of molecular imaging research, focusing on radiolabeling of small molecules and drug conjugates for cancer imaging and therapy. I am an experienced radiochemist with extensive knowledge of organic synthesis. Skilled in preclinical and clinical research for the development of PET-drugs and theranostic drug conjugates focusing on 18F, 11C, 125I, 68Ga, 64Cu, and 67Cu radiochemistry. In addition, I have expertise in Cyclotron-based PET drug synthesis for clinical evaluation of IND and FDA permitted tracers.
One of my foremost project involved the synthesis of radiolabeled PT2385 drug molecules with 18F and 11C radioisotope and their testing as diagnostic agents for PET/CT imaging of kidney cancer (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/52/e3/e8/97657659e5b276/US20210190788A1.pdf) (https://aacrjournals.org/cancerres/article/82/12_Supplement/2478/704395). I validate the radiosynthesis of 18F-PT2385 PET drug in an automated synthetic module for translational purposes. We have received 18F-PT2385 FDA-IND approval for the diagnosis of kidney cancer and the human trial is on track at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04989959).
I also lead other projects involved the synthesis of radiolabeled (18F, 68Ga, 64Cu based) small-molecule drug conjugates and implemented as a diagnostic agent for PET/CT imaging in prostate and neuroendocrine prostate cancer (International (PCT) Application No. PCT-US2021-055885 Filed). Some of the preclinical results were presented at Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging conference 2019 and 2020 (https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/60/supplement_1/1622, https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/supplement_1/1108). Our patent application for Proinflammatory prodrugs is under provisional period with US patent application number US 63/093,964.
On the other hand, I assist in Mediso PET/SPECT/CT scanner for preclinical imaging experiments and create imaging protocols to validate imaging agents for cancer diagnosis. Other than conducting research, during my tenure as a researcher, I have also mentored students, trained newer lab members, and have assisted my advisors for research proposals and grant applications. I wish to continue my contribution towards the betterment of cancer research by being a part of this cutting-edge science.