Ashish Ranjan, Ph.D., B.V.Sc., Principal Investigator
Dr. Ranjan is an Endowed Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology. He also serves as Vice Chair for Comparative Oncology & Research Innovations and Director of the Veterinary Research and Oncology Clinic. He earned his B.V.Sc. degree (DVM equivalent) from Madras Veterinary College, in Chennai, India, followed by a Ph.D. in biomedical and veterinary sciences from Virginia Tech. Dr. Ranjan was then a visiting fellow at the Center for Interventional Oncology, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Ranjan's research interests are in the application of device-directed nanoparticles for solid tumor chemo-immunotherapy. His lab is actively engaged in preclinical and bench-to-bedside veterinary clinical trials and has received funding from several federal, state, and private sources. Dr. Ranjan has received several distinguished awards, including the NIH Merit Award. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Focused Ultrasound Foundation, UK's Humanimal Trust, and NIH panels.
Akansha Singh, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Singh earned her Ph.D. degree in immunology from the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi, India, in 2020. Her research focused on designing an artificial tissue substitute to be used for organ regeneration using natural and organic polymers. She completed a fellowship at the Ross Tilley Burn Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Canada, where she advanced her research on artificial dermal substitutes.
Dr. Singh then completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Physiological Sciences at Oklahoma State University where she applied her knowledge of organic polymers to develop multimodal particles for enhanced antigen-presenting cell activation. She subsequently worked as a research scientist and research assistant professor at OSU, focusing on improving clinical outcomes of immunotherapies for cancer treatment. She was a part of the canine clinical trial team at OSU where she treated canine cancer patients with therapeutic ultrasound and immunological cell-death inducing nanoparticles.
Dr. Singh has extensive experience with therapeutic ultrasound, cancer immunology, polymeric nano- and micro-particle formulations, biochemistry, molecular biology, and protein structure and function. Her current research is focused on understanding molecular and immunological variations among cancer patients, as well as designing a treatment regime tailored to patient immune and demographic profiles.
Faraz Chamani, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Faraz Chamani earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Kansas State University in 2023. His research focused on in vitro measurement and mathematical modeling of hyperthermia-induced bioeffects in pancreatic cancer cells, contributing to the development of modeling tools for predictive treatment planning of thermal therapies and furthering understanding of the effects of energy-based interventions that involve perturbation of tissue temperature.
Dr. Chamani gained industry experience as a R&D Radiofrequency Engineer at Varian Medical Systems in Austin, Texas. During his one-year tenure, he expanded his technical engineering skills and computational modeling expertise, particularly in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in minimally-invasive thermal ablation for cancer treatment. During this time, Dr. Chamani contributed to the development of a microwave thermal ablation system for the treatment of liver tumors.
With extensive research and industry experience in energy-based thermal ablation modalities, Dr. Chamani has published his work in peer-reviewed journals. Currently, as a post-doctoral researcher, his work focuses on optimizing High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) as a novel non-invasive therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. This includes both thermal ablation and non-thermal histotripsy techniques, with a particular emphasis on designing personalized treatment protocols for canine cancer patients.
Punarvasu Puttaswamy, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Punarvasu Puttaswamy is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in the anticancer effects of therapeutic compounds. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Mysore in Karnataka, India. Dr. Puttaswamy’s research focuses on discovering and developing novel therapeutic compounds with potential anticancer properties, with the goal of enhancing the efficacy of cancer treatments and improving patient outcomes.
Mina Kord Heydari, Ph.D. Student
Mina Kord Heydari is a Ph.D. student in the Cancer Biology Program. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Food Science and Technology Engineering from Golestan Institute of Higher Education, where she specialized in nanomedicine. Her master’s thesis centered on developing nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, highlighting her expertise in nanotechnology. Currently, Mina is integrating her engineering background with cancer biology to develop novel nanomedicine-based therapeutic strategies aimed at enhancing targeted cancer treatments and improving patient outcomes. She is passionate about advancing oncology through innovative research and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Sri Vidhya Chandrasekar, Ph.D. Student
Sri is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Southwestern. She graduated from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Chennai, India, and holds a bachelor's degree in veterinary science and animal husbandry. Her research focuses on combining nanomedicine with therapeutic ultrasound to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies targeting solid tumors.
Poornima Devi Shaji, MS., Research Associate
Poornima holds a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and a Bachelor of Technology in Genetic Engineering from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology, India. She has a solid foundation in nano-oncology, immunotherapy, molecular biology, and translational research, with a particular focus on cancer biology. Her current research interests center around the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), immunotherapy, and in situ nanomedicine in murine models.
For her master’s thesis, Poornima developed a novel strategy to enhance immune checkpoint responses in pancreatic cancer by utilizing an antibody-targeted nano-drug delivery system to deplete tumor stroma. She is currently working in Dr. Ranjan's lab, where she is contributing to research aimed at improving local and abscopal immunotherapy for solid tumors using ultrasound therapy and in-situ nanomedicine in mice.
Poornima is passionate about advancing cancer treatment and bridging the gap between laboratory research and clinical applications to improve patient outcomes.
