Dr. Rashmi Minocha has completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Germany. During the course of her Ph.D., she carried out her research work at the Gene Center, LMU Munich and at the Institute of Biochemistry, University of Gießen (Germany). The overall aim of her doctoral work was to understand how gene expression is regulated by the cross communication between its single steps using yeast as a model organism. Specifically, she worked on the biochemical and functional characterization of splicing proteins Mud2 and Prp19 complex (Prp19C).
After her Ph.D., she moved back to India and joined All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the Department of Biochemistry to pursue her interests in medical and health-based research. She is presently working as a Young Scientist Awardee (a fellowship and research grant funded by Department of Health Research). Her major research interests are:
- Establishment of three-dimensional spheroid and organoid culture systems as in vitro disease models.
- Using these pivotal model systems for understanding cancer pathogenesis, screening for potential drugs and investigating new strategies in the field of personalized medicine.
- Applying an interdisciplinary approach by using a combination of techniques from cancer biology, molecular biology, biochemistry and bioinformatics.
Her on-going focus is to apply these 3D culture systems to investigate into the molecular mechanisms which drive gallbladder carcinogenesis.