Magazine of March - 2010 - Rups.net

Aditi Gurkar, daughter of Seema and Uday Gurkar, hasreceived her doctoral degree in Cell and Molecular Biology fromBoston University Medical School, Boston, USA. Her dissertationwork was done in the laboratory of Dr. Cyrus Vaziri in theDepartment of Genetics and Genomics / Pathology. The lab isinterested in understanding how cells are protected againstthe carcinogenic (cancer-causing) effects of ‘polycyclic arylhydrocarbons’(PAHs), a group of abundant and ubiquitousenvironmental pollutants that are present in tobacco smoke, carexhaust fumes and other combustion products, and represent amajor threat to human health.PAHs and other carcinogens cause cancer by damaging theDNA and altering the genetic code (by causing mutations).Normal cells are protected against carcinogens by a number ofmechanisms. Aditi worked on understanding such mechanismsthat sense PAH-induced DNA damage and appropriately integrate DNA repair with cell growth.Her work elucidates fundamental biological processes that are important for normal growth,development, and tumor suppression. Understanding these events could allow us to identifyindividuals most at risk from tobacco smoke (and related agents) and to devise appropriateprotective therapies.Aditi is currently working at Harvard Medical School/ Massachusetts General Hospital toidentify novel therapeutics to treat cancer. She believes that basic research can make animpact globally and thanks her family for always inspiring her.Design Warz’, the seven-part interior design reality TV show just concluded on ZOOMrecently. Of the hundreds of professional and amateur designers who battled it out tobe in the final team, only 18 made it to the final, and were grouped into nine teamscomprising a professional and a non-professional each. Their designs were judged on thebasis of innovation, creativity and functionalityby judges including Soha Ali Khan, EmranHashmi, Neha Dhupia, Minissha Lamba, AditiGovitrikar, Geeta Basra and Tara* Kaushal.Amay Gurkar, 23, son of Seema and UdayGurkar, participated in Design Warz and madeit to the grand finale, winning the trophy alongwith Kanchan Kukreja, 28. The programmewas telecast on ZOOM on January 30, 2010.The grand finale judging was on the basis ofdesigning a celebrity bed-room which was sponsored by ASIS. The winning team will alsoget to experience the prestigious interior designing fair at Milan.Amay is a final year student of architecture at Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute ofArchitecture in Juhu, Mumbai. For him, “Designing is an art, for which you don’t necessarilyneed to be an artist. It is about taking the mundane, the forgotten and the unnoticed thingswe encounter everyday, and giving them a new design language.”70Vol. 91, No.3, March 2010Kanara Saraswat