Ravi Patel

Biography

The focus of my research is on examining the mechanisms, pre-clinical testing, and clinical translation of treatment approaches that combine radiation and molecular-targeted therapeutics to drive anti-tumor immune responses. My scientific background is diverse and includes formal training and translational research experience with multiple murine tumor models, immunology, tumor cell biology, biomedical imaging, biomaterials and drug delivery, biostatistics, and early phase translational research. I first conducted research as an undergraduate, working in an orthopedic biomaterials laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research institute including a full time 6-month position as part of the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Fellowship. Subsequently, I completed an MD/PhD at Case Western Reserve University Medical School receiving my PhD in Biomedical Engineering.
During my residency training, I conducted preclinical research in the labs of Prof. Nancy Oleinick and Prof. Nicole Steinmetz. This laboratory research resulted one first author manuscript and three other publications in radiobiology and use of radiation to sensitize tumor to immunotherapy. For my research during residency I was awarded the Radiological Society of North American Roentgen Resident Research Award. After completion of residency, I was selected to receive the University of Wisconsin Benston Research Fellowship where I worked with Prof. Zachary Morris, Prof. Paul Sondel, and Prof. Jamey Weichert on projects utilizing molecular targeted radiotherapy to enhance the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in preclinical caner models.
Through this collective body of work, I have gained expertise using experimental approaches that are founded on robust in vivo studies of murine tumor models (transgenic, syngeneic, and immune suppressed) and augmented by ex vivo and in vitro approaches that include immuno-histopathology, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, cellular assays, molecular biology, and protein biochemistry.The broad goal of my research interests is to develop more effective, less toxic cancer treatments. To facilitate the accessibility of such potential benefits in the worldwide treatment of cancers, we propose to begin this effort using “off-the-shelf” therapeutics. Because the reagents we propose to study (radiation, T cell checkpoint blockade, and NM600) are adaptable to nearly all cancers, our results will have translational implications as a treatment strategy for nearly any tumor type.