Introduction and Goals:
Hello there! My name is Abhay Sheeri, and I am a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh. Currently, I am finishing my Molecular Biology major, as well as minoring in Applied Stats and Chemistry. Originally, I am from Chesterfield, New Jersey, and since coming to Pitt, I have certainly enjoyed my undergraduate years on campus. Right from the start of my freshman year, I was able to engage in research and various extra-curricular opportunities outside the classroom. Pitt truly allows its students to obtain real-world experiences and connections via fellowships like these. This past April, I had the opportunity to present my work thus far at the American Association for Cancer Research in their Annual Meeting conference in San Diego. Outside of academics, I am an avid photographer within my community and enjoy traveling across the world.
Having previously received the Health Sciences Research Fellowship (HSRF), I am now interested in shifting my scope of research into an interdisciplinary approach, looking at the larger implications of my work on the community as a whole. My current goal in research is to continue my work in regards to further elucidating a novel treatment approach to aggressive head and neck cancer. After my college career, I aspire to matriculate into medical school on my journey to becoming a physician. I certainly believe this fellowship will aid me in this process, as developing interdisciplinary communication is a vital skill not only to have in academia but also in the clinic. Communicating my observations and results to individuals of different backgrounds and with different levels of expertise will certainly enable a level of synergy to be unleashed from the discussions with the topic at hand. Hence, I look forward to working with fellow peers in the Brackenridge fellowship and my cohort to bring about unparalleled academic and interpersonal collaboration.
Project Description:
For the past three years, I have been conducting research in the Department of Radiation Oncology under Dr. Ravi Patel, who is a principal investigator and clinician at the university. In modern approaches to cancer treatment, immunotherapy, which involves utilizing a patient’s immune system, has seen great success. However, there remain patients who have limited responses. My project seeks to utilize a novel combination treatment approach with a novel engineered antibody, anti-PDL1-Il15, and radiation therapy to treat these conventionally immunotherapy-resistant tumors.
Since the HSRF, I have continued to progress in optimizing the production of anti-PDL1-IL15 and obtained encouraging preliminary pre-clinical results in a mouse cancer model. This summer, I aim to further understand immune activation, which involves the mechanisms by which the treatment model activates the immune cells to target tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment. This is a crucial step in my project, as it will enable me to better understand the treatment efficacy and mechanistic capabilities compared to control and commercial treatment options. The end goal of this project is to be better equipped to make a clinical transition to treat patients with immunotherapy-resistant tumors. This research is vital because it highlights the importance of continued growth and development in improving the lives of patients stricken with difficult-to-treat cancers. By opening up treatment options, a future cancer patient may have a greater chance of entering remission while sustaining an improved quality of life. Hence, they may overcome this longitudinal disease and return to their everyday lives, families, and jobs–culminating in improved communities worldwide.
