Recognizing Plant Direct first authors: Dhirodatta Senapati

Dhirodatta Senapati, first author of COP1 Regulates the Stability of CAM7 to Promote Photomorphogenic Growth

Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow in Department of Cancer Biology, Cleveland Clinic, United States of America

Education: Ph.D. in Biotechnology from National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Durgapur 713209, India

Non-scientific Interests: Playing poker, reading newspapers

Brief bio: I received my doctoral degree from National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Durgapur 713209, India. My PhD work focused on the of inter-regulatory role of Calmodulin 7 (CAM7) and Constitutive Photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) in Arabidopsis seedling development. I carried out different Biochemical and Molecular Biology studies on COP1-mediated stability of CAM7, which regulates the transcription of multiple regulatory genes involved in light signaling pathways. Together, these experiences convinced me that the mechanisms by which proteins interact with DNA and modulate transcription are underestimated targets for cancer therapy. I plan to pursue this topic in my independent career. I joined as postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cancer Biology, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio. Here, I work  on the comprehensive genomic binding of transcription factors involved in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) by Chip Seq analysis, and further we are planning to develop a small peptide that would be a potential therapy for Prostate Cancer.