Dr. Srishti Joshi completed her PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Massey University, New Zealand, in 2015. After a brief postdoctoral stint at the Systems Biology Lab, Korea University, she joined the DBT-COE-CBT (IIT Delhi) in 2017 as an Institute Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Prof. Anurag Rathore at the Centre of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Technology.
Dr. Joshi has been actively working in Analytics in Biotherapeutics, publishing impactful work on biosimilar characterization. Her notable first-author papers include:
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“An application of Nano Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Higher Order Structure assessment between mAb originator and biosimilars: Trastuzumab and Rituximab as case studies”
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“Monitoring size and oligomeric-state distribution of therapeutic mAbs by NMR and DLS: Trastuzumab as a case study”
Both published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (JPBA, 2020).
Author interview
How would you explain your papers to the non-scientific community?
Protein-based drugs, or biotherapeutics, are significantly larger than conventional small-molecule drugs. One major concern in such therapies is size heterogeneity, which can lead to immune responses in patients.
In her paper on NMR and DLS, Dr. Joshi demonstrated how Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) could be used to detect differences in the size and oligomeric state of therapeutic antibodies like Trastuzumab, and compared it with traditional methods like chromatography and light scattering.
In another study using NanoDSF, Dr. Joshi showed how this tool helps assess protein stability by measuring melting temperature, which is vital for comparing biosimilars with original drugs.
Together, these studies:
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Highlight the orthogonality (complementary value) of NMR and NanoDSF to existing methods.
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Show how they can aid in biosimilarity assessments of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
What is the impact of these findings on your research field?
These studies expand the analytical toolbox in biotherapeutics. As relatively new tools, NMR and NanoDSF need continued evaluation to define their utility in critical quality attribute (CQA) assessments. These findings support biosimilar developers and regulators in building robust assessment frameworks.
“[…] these studies serve as an example of biosimilarity assessment for size estimation using NMR and stability assessment using NanoDSF.”
What was the “Eureka” moment in your research?
The NMR study was especially challenging due to the size of the molecules involved (above 35 kDa) and the use of natural abundance samples (without isotope labeling). Successfully resolving clear NMR spectra for a monoclonal antibody, as shared by co-author Mr. Lakshya Khatri, was a breakthrough and a personal highlight.
What are your future goals?
Dr. Joshi plans to:
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Explore 2D-Liquid Chromatography for biotherapeutic analysis.
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Continue developing 2D-NMR methods for biosimilarity assessment of monoclonal antibodies (with Prof. Rathore and Prof. Ashutosh Kumar of IIT Bombay).
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Expand the understanding of advanced analytics in biosimilar characterization.
Where do you draw scientific inspiration from?
Dr. Joshi credits:
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Late Prof. Michael McManus, her PhD guide, for instilling a scientific mindset and resilience.
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Prof. Anurag Rathore, her current mentor, for encouraging translational thinking—focusing on the application of scientific knowledge for societal benefit.
How do you hope to help improve science in India?
Dr. Joshi believes in the power of public communication of science and teaching. She is committed to nurturing a scientific temperament and a learner’s mindset in her community, contributing to long-term growth of science in India.
References
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Joshi S., Maharana C., Rathore A.S.
An application of Nano Differential Scanning Fluorimetry for Higher Order Structure assessment between mAb originator and biosimilars (2020). JPBA, 186, 113270. -
Joshi S., Khatri L.R., Kumar A., Rathore A.S.
Monitoring size and oligomeric-state distribution of therapeutic mAbs by NMR and DLS (2020). JPBA, 113841.
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