Sanchita Ghosh Ph.D.

Education

2005-2009: Research Investigator (Henry M. Jackson Foundation), Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
2002-2005: Research Fellow, National Institute of Deafness and other Communications Disorder (NIDCD), NIH, Bethesda, USA.
1998-2000: Assistant Professor, Birla Institute Of Technology and Science, India.
1990-1994: Post Doctoral Fellow, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.
1990: Ph.D., Indian Association of Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, India.

Biography

The primary research interests of Dr. Ghosh’s laboratory are to screen and develop medical countermeasures for acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in murine model following guidelines established by the US FDA Animal Rule. Her focus on the development of drugs and treatment approaches are designed to prevent, mitigate, or reverse health damage resulting from exposure to ionizing radiation. The potential for exposure to harmful doses of ionizing radiation exists in a wide variety of scenarios including accidents in nuclear facilities as well as nuclear detonation. Her effort is to identify radiation countermeasures / drugs that belong to various classes such as antioxidants/immunostimulants, growth factors, or cellular products, that can reconstitute the immune system and/or overcome reactive oxygen species-induced biological changes in in vivo animal models. She uses a mouse model to screen various countermeasures exposed to γ-irradiation in AFRRI’s unique pool-type Cobalt 60 facility. Over the years, she has served as Principal Investigator in the Radiation Countermeasure Program with financial support from DTRA, DMRDP, JPC-7, NIAID-AFRRI Inter Agency Agreement (IAA), and intramural grants. She also serves as the Chair of the AFRRI Intramural Screening Program.
Her laboratory has extensive experience in studying the hematopoietic and gastrointestinal ARS following total-body and partial-body irradiation using murine model, and the effects of various radiation countermeasures on injury and recovery. To date, she has evaluated over 30 different compounds/drugs in the mouse model through material transfer agreement. Out of these candidates, 4 candidates emerged as promising countermeasures both as a prophylactic radiation countermeasure as well as a mitigator in the murine model. Her laboratory has identified a list of time-informed critical markers and mechanisms of significant translational potential in the context of a radiation exposure event using serum miRNAs and metabolites. She collaborates with academic institutions, DoD laboratories, and corporate collaborators in US as well as overseas. In summary, She has accomplished various research projects in AFRRI (Extramural and Intramural) which involves developing countermeasures in mouse models, developing partial body irradiated (gut and lung specific) mouse models in SARRP, studying radiation responses in biofluids and tissues from irradiated mice from total body as well as partial body irradiated (gut and lung specific), differential expression of microRNA/metabolites in mouse tissues after radiation.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

2009-Present: Research Biologist and Senior Principal Investigator, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Drug Screening for Radiation Mitigation Efficacy. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 9/30/2015 – 8/30/2020 (Open ended, yearly renewal expected every year), budget for: FY20 $573K.

Screening Radiation Countermeasures in Laboratory Mice, AFRRI Intramural funding 10/01/2009 – 8/30/2021 (Open ended, yearly renewal expected every year), budget for: FY20 $150K.

Development of thrombopoietin mimetic (TPOm) as a promising radiation countermeasure, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs/Joint Program Committee 7 (CDMRP/JPC7), ~$1.2 M, 05/01/2017-05/31/21.

Evaluation of the IGF-1/eNOS pathway as a moderator of radiation sensitivity, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), $581K, 9/30/2016 – 8/30/2021.

Development of thrombopoietin mimetic (TPOm) as a mitigator against Radiation-induced endovascular injuries. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), $750K, 06/01/2017 – 5/31/2022.

Studying Delayed Effects of Acute Radiation Exposure in a mouse and minipig model (6.2), $225K, 10/01/2019 – 09/30/2022.

Circulating MicroRNAs as Radiation Biodosimeters: Evaluation of Organ Responses. Joint Program Committee-7, $900K, 4/24/2020 – 4/23/2023.

May 2020: Winner of Received Radiobiology Research Award, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Representative Bibliography

Kumar VP, Holmes-Hampton GP, Biswas S, Stone S, Sharma NK, Hritzo B, Guilfoyle M, Eichenbaum G, Guha C, Ghosh SP. Mitigation of total body irradiation-induced mortality and hematopoietic injury of mice by a thrombopoietin mimetic (JNJ-26366821). Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 3;12(1):3485. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-07426-7. PubMed PMID: 35241733; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8894488.

Soni DK, Kumar VP, Biswas S, Holmes-Hampton GP, Bhattacharyya S, Thomas LJ, Biswas R, Ghosh SP. CDX-301 prevents radiation-induced dysregulation of miRNA expression and biogenesis. Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2022 Dec 13;30:569-584. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2022.11.010. eCollection 2022 Dec 13. PubMed PMID: 36457703; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9703457.

Satyamitra M, Cary L, Dunn D, Holmes-Hampton GP, Thomas LJ, and Ghosh SP. (2020) “CDX-301: a novel medical countermeasure for hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome in mice”. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-58186-1

Chakraborty N, Gautam A, Holmes-Hampton GP, Kumar VP, Biswas S, Kumar R, Hamad D, Dimitrov G, Olabisi AO, Hammamieh R, and Ghosh SP. (2020) “microRNA and Metabolite Signatures Linked to Early Consequences of Lethal Radiation”. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-62255-w.

Kumar VP, Stone S, Biswas S, Sharma N, Ghosh SP. Gamma Tocotrienol Protects Mice From Targeted Thoracic Radiation Injury. Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:587970. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2020.587970. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 33343356; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7748112.

Cheema AK, Byrum SD, Altadill T, Kumar VP, Biswas S, Balgley BM, Hauer-Jensen M, Tackett AJ, Ghosh SP. (2018) “Proteomic changes in mouse spleen following radiation injury and its modulation by gamma-tocotrienol”. Radiat Res, doi: 10.1667/RR15008.1.

Kumar VP, Biswas S., Sharma NK, Stone S, Fam CM, Cox GN, and Ghosh SP. (2018) “PEGylated IL-11 (BBT-059), a novel radiation countermeasure for hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome”. Health Phys. 115(1): 65–76. doi:10.1097/HP.0000000000000841.

Satyamitra M, Kumar VP, Biswas S, Cary L, Dickson L, and Ghosh SP. (2017) “Impact of abbreviated filgrastim schedule on survival and hematopoietic recovery post-irradiation in four mouse strains with different radiosensitivity”. Radiat Res., 187(6):659-671. doi: 10.1667/RR14555.1.

Ghosh SP, Kulkarni S, Hieber K, Toles R, Romanyukha L, Kao T-C, Hauer-Jensen M, and Kumar KS. (2009) “Gamma-tocotrienol, a tocol antioxidant as a potent radioprotector”. Int J Radiat Biol. 85:598-606. https://doi.org/10.1080/09553000902985128.

Ghosh SP, Perkins MW, Hieber K, Kulkarni s, Kao T-C, Reddy EP, Reddy MVR, Maniar M, Seed T, and Kumar KS. (2009) “Radiation protection by a new chemical entity, Ex-Rad: efficacy and mechanisms”. Radiat Res. 171:173-179. https://doi.org/10.1667/RR1367.1