Deepa Avasarala Rao

Biography

Education: 2008 | Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 1999 | Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY

Research Interest

Areas of Research & Specialization: My prior research experience, as part of my PhD, was in elucidating the effect of physicochemical properties of nanoparticulate systems on their lymphatic uptake and retention. As such, I was able to correlate the particle size, hydrophobicity, and charge distribution of biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles with their uptake and retention within the lymphatic system. In my post-doctoral study, I worked with micellar nanocarriers composed of biocompatible polymers for delivery of anti-cancer agents. In my current research endeavors I continue to pursue my interest in biocompatible and biodegradable polymers as micellar drug delivery systems for cancer therapeutics. Specifically I am interested in designing micellar drug carriers using Pluronic® block copolymers for the concomitant delivery of drugs with additive/synergistic effects. Molecules currently being explored include resveratrol, curcumin, thymoquinone, 2-hydrozycinnamaldehyde and other dietary phytochmeicals for the complementary/ adjuvant treatment of ovarian and breast cancer. The goal of this area of work is to explore concomitant delivery of dietary phytochemicals in combination with conventional chemotherapeutics or with other dietary phytochemicals for the treatment of breast or ovarian cancer. Another area of research is designing and/or evaluating compounded medications. As such, the lab conducts accelerated stability testing of compounded products, and can design and evaluate oral, and ophthalmic formulations for disease states in conjunction with local clinical practitioners.