Nemours Biomedical Research
Sigrid Rajasekaran, Ph.D.
Head of Cancer Cell Metabolism Laboratory
Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
Nemours Biomedical Research
1701, Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Phone: (302) 651-6538
FAX: (302) 651-4827
E-mail: sraj@medsci.udel.edu
Website: www.nemours.org/link/ncccr
Education:
Ph.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, 2001
Research Interests:
The lab studies the molecular mechanisms of how ionic imbalance contributes to growth factor receptor activation and oncogenic signaling in cancer cells to gain new insights into novel therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. During her thesis work, Dr. Rajasekaran discovered that the Na,K-ATPase, also known as sodium pump, is required to maintain the morphology of normal epithelial cells and is affected in cancer. The Na,K-ATPase is an enzyme crucial for maintaining intracellular ion homeostasis and the low sodium concentrations found in normal cells. Her laboratory investigates on the consequences of reduced Na,K-ATPase function in cellular transformation.
A second area of interest is the development of novel therapeutic approaches to treat medulloblastoma. Medulloblastoma is the most common brain cancer found in children and usually forms in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls movement, balance, and posture. Although the cure rates are improving, approximately one-third of patients with medulloblastoma remain incurable. In addition, current treatments such as surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have serious side effects and survivors suffer form long-term damage such as deficits in IQ, memory, and language, impaired growth and increased risk of secondary cancers. Reducing long-term side effects is a key aspect of cancer treatment in children which requires evaluation of safe drugs for medulloblastoma treatment. Dr. Rajasekaran’s lab has identified potential drugs that kill medulloblastoma cells in vitro. The goal of this translational project is to evaluate these potentially safer drugs to treat the most common forms of medulloblastoma in children.
Dr. Rajasekaran is a Research Scientist at the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research (NCCCR) at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. She holds academic positions as Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College, as Affiliated Scientist at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware, and as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Delaware. She is a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University. Prior to joining the NCCCR she had completed post-doctoral studies at UCLA and was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UCLA.