Lunch with immune cells!

Work done in the lab of Dr. Siddharth Jhunjhunwala at the Indian Institute of Science

About author

Megha Srinivas, born in Bangalore, completed her schooling in 2016 and joined IISc to pursue BS (Research) as a biology major. In 2020, she completed her bachelor’s and continued for another year to complete her master’s. During her five years of study at IISc, she has worked as a summer intern in NCBS, IISc and CHU Hôtel Dieu, France. Majorly interested in interdisciplinary research, she completed her bachelor’s and master’s theses in Dr. Siddharth Jhunjhunwala’s lab at the Bioengineering Department where she studied ‘Phagocytic Uptake of Polymeric Particles by Immune Cells under Flow Conditions.’ She is currently working as a Project Assistant at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, IISc to study cellular responses to mechanical stretching. An outdoorsy person, Megha enjoys travelling, playing sports and riding motorbikes. She is also a core member of NoteBook Drive, IISc’s student initiative to aid underprivileged school children to pursue higher education.

Interview

How would you explain your research outcomes to the non-scientific community?

Micro and nanoparticles have gained importance in several applications such as drug delivery, biosensing, gene delivery, etc. One common mode of administration of these particles is by the IV route, where they encounter immune cells, which might clear them from circulation before reaching the target site. Hence, studying uptake under flowing conditions becomes important to determine drug dosage or devise strategies to target or evade these immune cells. Our study shows that immune cells are capable of taking up particles while flowing and the uptake capacity of different cell types depends on particle size and flow rate. This study also provides preliminary evidence that immune cells in the bloodstream are likely to have the capacity to take up intravenously injected particles even under the crowding effects of RBCs.

How do these findings contribute to your research area?

These findings have several applications, especially in the field of drug delivery. For example, in the case of a disease condition attributed to immune cell dysfunction, the results of this study would help design particles to target the immune cells and deliver the necessary therapeutic. In certain other diseases where the therapeutics are administered via the IV route, clearance of these drug-loaded particles in the bloodstream is undesirable. In such cases, our study, which shows the uptake trend under various conditions, would help in modifying these particles to evade the immune cells.

“This study also provides preliminary evidence that immune cells in the bloodstream are likely to have the capacity to take up intravenously injected particles even under the crowding effects of RBCs.”

What was the exciting moment during your research?

The exciting moments during my research were when I got results at the end of the day upon executing my experiment without interruptions or mistakes. Even obtaining a single data point, out of the several hundred required to be included as a part of the results would thrill me and be the driving force to conduct further experiments. These small daily excitements motivated me to stay focused to arrive at the feeling of ‘it finally paid off’ when we published the results.

What do you hope to do next?

I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary field of Bioengineering to follow my passion for research. I have applied to several universities in the US and Switzerland, and I am awaiting their results. I hope to continue in research, especially translational research in the biomedical engineering domain.

Where do you seek scientific inspiration from?

Science has always fascinated me right from my school days. When I joined IISc for my undergraduate study, it was like a dream come true. I was free to explore my interests and make educated choices about areas I would like to pursue. Handling rare reagents, creating new gene sequences, learning to handle complex equipment, having an intense scientific discussion, etc., have always given me little joys of doing ‘Cool Science Stuff.’ So, my scientific inspiration evolved over five years of study at IISc and research experiences at institutions in India and abroad.

How do you intend to help Indian science improve?

In my understanding, scientific temperament must be sown early on in a child’s life irrespective of what profession they may pursue. Scientific knowledge would help in making informed choices in different aspects of life. In this regard, I intend to organize or participate in outreach programs to involve students from different schools and colleges to give them exposure to research. Besides, Indian science can improve when both men and women are given equal opportunities to pursue their field of interest. Unfortunately, patriarchy remains deeply rooted in most societies and can be alleviated when more women engage in STEM fields. Hence, I intend to inspire young women to take up a career in science which would significantly accelerate Indian science to conquer new pinnacles.

Reference

Megha Srinivas, Preeti Sharma, and Siddharth Jhunjhunwala. Phagocytic Uptake of Polymeric Particles by Immune Cells under Flow Conditions. Mol. Pharmaceutics 2021, 18, 12, 4501–4510

Edited by: Dolly Singh

Meet the managers

Surabhi Sonam

Surabhi Sonam is an Assistant Professor. Along with teaching and research, she has a very strong interest in science communication. She has written several poems and blogs to communicate scientific principles and concepts. She is also volunteering with several science communication platforms as a content contributor and content editor. Under her supervision, her students have launched a scicomm magazine, Scinion which represents science in verbal and visual forms.

Sejal Dixit

Sejal Dixit is currently a 3rd-year student pursuing BSc triple majors in biotechnology, zoology, and chemistry from CHRIST (Deemed to be University). She loves to read, be it short stories, novels, magazines, or research articles. She is working with her college professor on a few papers, and wishes to pursue her master’s degree in stem cells and regenerative medicines. She has no problem socializing with new people and possesses leadership qualities. Her hobbies are dancing and traveling.

For interview related queries, write to us at inverview.biopatrika@gmail.com