Shilpa George

• Worked with Dr. Uday Kompella in conducting an ex-vivo eye drop study to determine the effect of preservatives in the transport of drugs through the cornea when delivered topically and demonstrated that preservatives (eg: Benzalkonium chloride) can increase the drug uptake to the corneal layers up to 20%, using rabbit, bovine and porcine eye models

• Tested the efficacy of phage-like particles in delivering Bevacizumab topically as eye drops and in improving the ocular bioavailability by utilizing ex-vivo eye models, primary corneal cell cultures etc.

• Working on developing a novel topical drug delivery platform using a tailor-made protein conjugated with Bevacizumab, that could regress pre-existing corneal angiogenesis

• Determined the sustained-release efficiency of cysteamine-loaded vitamin E contact lenses in NZW rabbits for up to 72 hours

• Developed and optimized a novel sustained-release metformin eye drop formulation for the treatment of posterior capsule opacification (PCO), which increases the residence time of the drug on the cornea and hence increases drug penetration by overcoming the physiochemical barriers of the eye
• Demonstrated that metformin prevents endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in lens epithelial cells by the activation of pAMPK
• Tested several polymeric formulations of metformin eye drops in aldose reductase overexpressed transgenic mouse models to observe the effect of individual polymers in pAMPK activation

• Developed and optimized drug loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) for targeted Ocular Drug Delivery under the supervision of Dr.Nirmal J
• Applied Box-Behnken experimental design and desirability function for the optimization and risk assessment of SLNs
• Achieved sustained release of BCS Class II and Class IV drug-loaded nanocarriers to the posterior segment of eye

• Worked with Prof. Alison Rodger and Dr.Yuling Wang to develop a smart nanosensor using bottom-up and top-down synthesis methods
• Characterized the interactions between the gold nanosensor and the protein molecules using Raman Spectroscopy
• Proved the ability of these nanosensors to measure protein concentration using minute quantities of DNA as low as 1μL and its potential to substitute Gel Electrophoresis in the future

• Designed a thermo-responsive nanotherapeutic tool for Ocular Drug Delivery, supervised by Dr. Swati Biswas
• Developed and characterized Chitosan-PLGA biodegradable in-situ gelling system of Ciprofloxacin loaded micelles for the treatment of Bacterial Keratitis
• Achieved enhanced drug transport across the corneal membrane and increased ocular retention time by over 75%

• Assisted Dr. D.Sriram in the screening of KARI (Ketol-acid reductor isomerase) enzyme-inhibiting drugs that can effectively kill resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Evaluated the activity of the novel drug compounds in Mt infected macrophages, and Nutrient Starvation Model, which showed a reduction in bacterial growth up to 1.9-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively, at a concentration of 10μM
• Verified the safety and efficacy of the drug candidates to kill drug-resistant forms of TB by employing Microplate Alamar Blue Assay, Biofilm Model, MTT assay, etc

• Studied novel methods for rapid diagnosis of Dengue infections using applications of microsphere-based immunoassays and Bayesian network model
• Designed a paper-based nanoparticle test kit to detect dengue antibodies (NS1, IgG and IgM) from saliva, which improved the testing efficiency by 25%
• Worked closely with the R&D, Manufacturing, QC-QA and Packaging teams to get a basic knowledge of how things work at an industrial level