SUMMARY
The research of Abhishek Chandra, Ph.D., focuses on the pathophysiology of the bone loss that results from aging, radiotherapy and several disease conditions. Dr. Chandra's work also focuses on understanding the mechanism of fate commitment of mesenchymal lineage cells during pathological conditions and the resulting bone marrow environment.
Dr. Chandra is particularly interested in providing therapeutic options for radiotherapy-induced osteoporosis, resulting fractures and improving bone quality. In addition, Dr. Chandra focuses on the DNA damage and repair pathways involved in bone cells, and on how the regulation of these pathways affects bone architecture.
Focus areas
- Osteoporosis. Dr. Chandra characterizes the cellular and subcellular mechanism behind age- and disease-related osteoporosis. In order to translate cellular changes to bone formation, he focuses on understanding subcellular processes such as DNA damage, apoptosis, senescence and ubiquitin-proteasome function in both normal and disease conditions.
- Radiotherapy, bone loss and fractures. Dr. Chandra has worked extensively on the identification of therapeutic drugs that can prevent radiation-induced osteoporosis. Optimizing treatment options for radiation-induced osteoporosis and the resulting fracture-healing process, with minimal side effects and improved bone quality, is the main focus of Dr. Chandra's research.
- Osteocyte biology. Dr. Chandra investigates the role of deeply embedded osteocytes, explores changes in their biological function with aging and disease, and examines how these changes affect the regulation of collagen deposition, bone architecture and bone quality.
- Mesenchymal stem cell biology. Dr. Chandra focuses his work on therapeutic options to regulate bone marrow adiposity. This research aims to define the cues that regulate mesenchymal cell fate and assign them to an osteogenic or adipogenic fate. Dr. Chandra utilizes lineage-tracing methods to accurately characterize the mesenchymal fate and identify the pathways that regulate cell fate.
Significance to patient care
The research performed by Dr. Chandra directly impacts aging and disease-associated bone loss. His research has the potential to improve quality of life for patients with hip fractures after radiation — these fractures not only cause immobility but also are painful and often lead to death. The ultimate goal of Dr. Chandra's work is to provide therapeutic options that could not only reverse radiation damage to bones but also improve the overall quality of newly formed bones.