Dr. Amog Urs

Biography

My long-term research interest is to understand cancer metabolism and the pathways associated with developing treatment strategies. I developed my interest in research during my undergraduate education and worked on the minor project “Production of ethanol from locally available ethnic grains and fruits”. As soon as I joined the Master’s degree, started visiting research laboratories to discuss some basic research ideas and became passionate about continuing my research career. During the course break, I worked as an intern at the Department of Studies in Biochemistry, University of Mysore, Mysuru, India, and worked on a short project entitled “Neutralization of Echis carinatus venom proteases by natural and synthetic inhibitors”. During my Master’s, I worked on a project entitled “Anti-snake venom properties of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth seeds”. Later, I continued this work until I joined the Ph.D. degree and this fetched me two first-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals. After successfully clearing the national level Junior Research Fellowship examination by securing 55th rank conducted by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, one of the premier research and development organizations in India, I joined Prof. B. S. Vishwanath’s laboratory for a Ph.D. degree and worked on “Purification and characterization of plant latex protease(s): understanding the mechanism(s) of hemostasis”. During my Ph.D., I gained expertise in the field of platelet aggregation, coagulation assays like activated clotting time (re-calcification time), prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, factor assays, survival studies, excision, and venom-induced wound healing. I have also worked on cell signaling pathways that include MAPKs, Akt, NF-kB, cPLA2, and protease-activated receptors (PARs). I have extensively worked with different animal models (Swiss albino mice, Wistar rats, and New Zealand white rabbits) and gene knockdown studies in cell culture. Also, I was involved in other works in the laboratory such as venom pharmacology, ethnopharmacology, hypertension, asthma, inflammation, and wound healing. During my Ph.D., I gained extensive experience in designing, executing, and troubleshooting experiments, and analyzing results, as well as in writing grant applications. I had the opportunity to mentor Master’s students and served as an organizing member in various conferences and symposia organized by the Department of Studies in Biochemistry, University of Mysore, India. These experiences have helped me to develop strong communication, presentation, and organization skills. Multitasking and working in collaboration are my strengths as proven by several co-authored publications. The current postdoctoral position realized my dream of researching cancer biology. My expertise in blood-related works and animal handling helped me pursue clinical research here at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah. My postdoctoral research training is in the field of cancer biology, with a specific interest in investigating the role of circular and long non-coding RNAs in leukemia prognosis and treatment. My research has promising results; hence I am confident my further work in this field will provide novel therapeutic avenues. My research work is progressing extremely well and was accepted for oral presentation at the prestigious “European Hematology Association (EHA) 2022 congress” and was awarded a travel grant for the same. During my postdoc, I gained expertise in knockdown, gene expression, RNA sequencing, RNA-protein, and protein-protein interaction studies. I am an active reviewer for thrombosis research, pharmaceutical biology, and cellular signaling journals. Recently, I have guest edited a special issue “Natural Products and Their Biological Activities” published in Current Issues in Molecular Biology journal and currently serving as an editorial board member of the Advances in Biochemistry journal.

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