Dr. Sunitha V. Bachawal, a 2010 Ph.D. graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s Pharmacy Ph.D. program, received a prestigious honor when her photo was chosen as the cover image for the June issue of the journal, “Cancer Research: Driving Innovation to Prevent and Cure Cancer.”
Dr. Paul Sylvester, director of graduate studies and research in pharmacy at ULM—served as Bachawal’s major professor of pharmacology during her doctoral studies. He said “Cancer Research” is considered one of the most highly cited and respected cancer journals in the world.
The cover image, an “immunohistochemical microphotograph,” is taken from Bachawal’s research article published in the same issue titled “Breast Cancer Detection by B7-H3- Targeted Ultrasound Molecular Imaging.”
Immunohistochemical imaging uses B7-H3, a contrasting chemical agent, to target the tumor vascular system during an ultrasound.
According to Sylvester, studies show that B7-H3 is differentially expressed in breast cancer-associated vascular cells as compared to normal or benign breast tissue. B7-H3-targeted ultrasound molecular imaging allows for the detection of breast cancer at early stages of breast cancer development.
Bachawal is currently working in the Department of Radiology's Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, Calif.
