About the Membrane Biology Lab
The Nemours Membrane Biology Research Laboratory, one of several pediatric labs located at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, performs a wide range of basic and translational research projects related to membrane biology.
Lab Head
Ayyappan K Rajasekaran, PhD
Laboratory Head
araj@medsci.udel.edu
Ayyappan K Rajasekaran, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, at Thomas Jefferson University; Adjunct Professor, Materials Science and Engineering, and Affiliated Scientist, Biological Sciences, at the University of Delaware; and Senior Research Scientist, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at ChristianaCare Health System.
Current Research Group
- Ponniah Selvakumar, PhD, Post-doctoral Fellow, studies the role of myristoyltransferases in leukemia progression and treatment
- Justin David, Graduate Student, studying the efficacy of ionophores for kidney cancer treatment
- Vinu Krishnan, Graduate Student, developing nanotechnology-based drug delivery for childhood leukemia
- Pratima Patil, Graduate Student, mechanisms early stage development of cancer using 3-D culture models
- Sona Lakshme Balasubramaniam, Graduate Student, mechanisms of cell-cell adhesion in epithelial cells
- Tori Owens, Laboratory Assistant, studies on the mechanisms of Wilms tumor progression in children
Our Location:
Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware
Rockland Center 1
1701 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Phone: (302) 651-6593
Fax: (302) 651-4827
Current Research
We are involved in a wide range of research subjects related to membrane biology.
Basic Research
- Mechanisms of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and Mesenchymal to Epithelial Transition (MET)
- Role of Na,K-ATPase in epithelial tissue biogenesis and cancer
- Biogenesis of tight junctions and desmosomes
- Biology of prostate specific membrane antigen
Translational Research
- Drug development and preclinical studies for EMT and MET
- Nanotechnology-based drug delivery for leukemia
- Targeted drug delivery for solid tumors
- Studies on soluble biomarkers for cancer and inflammation
Current Projects
- Nanotherapeutics for childhood leukemia
- Preclinical and Clinical studies of novel drugs for kidney cancer treatment
- Three-dimensional (3-D) cell culture models for studying early development of cancer
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