Thembi Nkomo | mental health and psychiatry | Best Researcher Award

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Mrs. Thembi Nkomo | mental health and psychiatry | Best Researcher Award

Mrs at University of the Free State,Ā  South Africa

Dr. Thembi Nkomo is a dedicated Occupational Therapy lecturer at the University of the Free State, South Africa. With a Master’s in Public Health and a PGDip in Vocational Rehabilitation, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Health at the University of Limpopo. Her research focuses on minimizing mental illness relapse among public school teachers. Dr. Nkomo has published in esteemed journals and has extensive clinical experience, having managed the Occupational Therapy psychiatry department at Mankweng Tertiary Hospital. She actively engages in community outreach, enhancing mental health awareness and supporting vocational rehabilitation initiatives.

Publication profile

 

šŸŽ“ Educational Qualifications

2021: PGDip in Vocational Rehabilitation, University of Pretoria. 2019: Masterā€™s in Public Health, University of Limpopo. 2014: B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy, University of the Western Cape

šŸ« Teaching Portfolio

Position: Lecturer, Occupational Therapy Department, University of the Free State (2023 – Present)

  • Courses Taught:
    • First Year: Community-based engagement, Motivation
    • Second Year: Community-based practice, Social participation & communication
    • Third Year: Performance patterns, Ethics
    • Fourth Year: Various mental health disorders and forensic psychiatry

šŸ¤ Community Engagements

Supervises community-based engagements for first-year students. Conducts handwriting assessments for students requiring additional time during tests and exams.

šŸ‘©ā€āš•ļø Clinical Experience

Position: Occupational Therapist, Mankweng Tertiary and Academic Hospital (2015 – 2022)

  • Managed the Occupational Therapy psychiatry department, conducted functional capacity evaluations, and supervised outreach programs.

šŸ“ Extra Contributions

  • Facilitated a mental health awareness event in 2022, securing sponsorships and engaging stakeholders.
  • Initiated an outpatient group for vocational rehabilitation of patients with mental illness and started a vegetable garden in the ward.

Publication

1. Occupational Therapy Students’ Perceptions of Spirituality in Training
  • Authors: TG Mthembu, F Ahmed, T Nkuna, K Yaca
  • Journal: Journal of Religion and Health
  • Volume: 5
  • Pages: 2178-2197
  • Year: 2014
2. Exploring Performance Patterns of Family Members Caring for a Loved One with Mental Illness in Rural and Remote Capricorn District of South Africa: A Secondary Analysis
  • Authors: T Nkomo, K Mokoko, Percy
  • Journal: Occupational Therapy in Mental Health
  • Pages: 1-23
  • Year: 2024
3. The Realities of Caring for a Person with a Mental Disorder in Rural and Remote Capricorn District of South Africa: A Qualitative Study
  • Authors: T Nkomo, P Kekana, K Mokoko
  • Journal: Community Mental Health
  • Year: 2024

 

Dhurjhoti Saha | Chromatin remodeler | Best Researcher Award

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Ā Dr. Dhurjhoti Saha | Chromatin remodeler | Best Researcher Award

Dr. MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States

šŸ‘©ā€šŸ”¬ Dhurjhoti Saha, Ph.D., is an accomplished researcher with expertise in high-throughput Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques and bioinformatics analysis. With a background in chromatin biology and cancer research, Dr. Saha has made significant contributions to understanding the role of chromatin remodelers in genome organization and cancer progression. Experienced in programming languages like Python and R, she has developed analysis pipelines and tools for genomic data interpretation. Dr. Saha’s strong project management skills have been demonstrated through her leadership in managing research teams and securing NIH grants. With a track record of peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations, she continues to drive innovation in the field of epigenetics and cancer biology.šŸŒŸ

Profile

Scopus

 

Orcid

 

Scholar

 

 

Research Summary šŸ§¬šŸ”¬

Proficient in high-throughput Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques such as ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, PRO-seq, CUT&RUN, Hi-ChIP, and gene editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9.Skilled in NGS data analysis, including ChIP-seq, RIP-seq, ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN, RNA-seq, with established analysis pipelines and genomic analysis tools. Experienced in programming languages Python and R. Expertise in mammalian cell culture, including cancer cell lines, mouse embryonic stem cells, stable cell line generation, and drug/small molecule screening. Demonstrated excellent project management skills, including team management, protocol development, and manuscript writing for publication. Strong track record of research publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international conferences and seminars. Assisted in securing NIH R01 grant.

Employment History šŸ’¼

Associate Data Scientist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (June 2023-present)Research Scientist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (August 2021-May 2023)Post-doctoral Fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (August 2017-August 2021)Postdoctoral Fellow at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (March 2016-June 2017)Senior Research Fellow at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (August 2012-February 2016)Research Assistant at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (January 2009-July 2012)

Education šŸŽ“

Ph.D. in Life Science from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India (February 2016)M.Sc. in Zoology from University of Kolkata, India (June 2007)B.Sc. in Zoology from [University Name], India (June 2005)

Mentoring and Outreach Activities šŸŒŸ

Graduate School

  • Mentored 8 graduate students and project assistants (3 males, 5 females).

Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Mentored 3 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and project assistants.
  • Advised mentees on selecting and planning manageable research topics.
  • Evaluated and monitored research progress, providing guidance and encouragement.
  • Fostered intellectual and scholarly development, offering advice on career opportunities.
  • Mentored a female project assistant to secure a Ph.D. position based on her research interests.
  • Guided an international female Ph.D. student from China in completing research work at MDACC.

Outreach

  • Served as elected Chairperson of the Postdoctoral Association (PDAEC) at MDACC for three years (2018-2021).
  • Led outreach programs including Career Development, Internal Communications, Responsible Conduct of Research, Teaching Opportunities, and Policy Making.

Honors and Other Scientific Recognitions šŸ†

Received travel awards from MD Anderson Cancer Center to present at Keystone Conference Center, Epigenetics Meeting in Denver (January 2020), and Penn State Conference, Epigenetics Meeting in Pennsylvania (August 2019).Awarded the Center of Cancer Epigenetics (CCE) postdoctoral fellowship (2019-20).Recognized with a poster award at Genome Meet Conference, New Delhi, India (December 2012).Nationally recognized for scientific work in India by The Hindu newspaper.Awarded Senior Research Fellowship by CSIR, Dept. of Life Science, Govt. Of India (2012).Acknowledged for Best Performance in M.Sc. (Zoology) by Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Kolkata University, India (2005).

 

Publications Top Notes šŸ“

  1. Title: Zinc-finger transcription factors are associated with guanine quadruplex motifs in human, chimpanzee, mouse and rat promoters genome-wide
    • Authors: P Kumar, VK Yadav, A Baral, P Kumar, D Saha, S Chowdhury
    • Journal: Nucleic acids research
    • Volume: 39
    • Issue: 18
    • Pages: 8005-8016
    • Year: 2011
    • Citations: 71

 

  1. Title: MRN complex-dependent recruitment of ubiquitylated BLM helicase to DSBs negatively regulates DNA repair pathways
    • Authors: V Tripathi, H Agarwal, S Priya, H Batra, P Modi, M Pandey, D Saha, …
    • Journal: Nature communications
    • Volume: 9
    • Issue: 1
    • Pages: 1016
    • Year: 2018
    • Citations: 64

 

  1. Title: Epigenetic suppression of human telomerase (hTERT) is mediated by the metastasis suppressor NME2 in a G-quadruplexā€“dependent fashion
    • Authors: D Saha, A Singh, T Hussain, V Srivastava, S Sengupta, A Kar, P Dhapola, …
    • Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
    • Volume: 292
    • Issue: 37
    • Pages: 15205-15215
    • Year: 2017
    • Citations: 61

 

  1. Title: Telomere length-dependent transcription and epigenetic modifications in promoters remote from telomere ends
    • Authors: AK Mukherjee, S Sharma, S Sengupta, D Saha, P Kumar, T Hussain, …
    • Journal: PLoS genetics
    • Volume: 14
    • Issue: 11
    • Pages: e1007782
    • Year: 2018
    • Citations: 57

 

  1. Title: Transcription regulation of CDKN1A (p21/CIP1/WAF1) by TRF2 is epigenetically controlled through the REST repressor complex
    • Authors: T Hussain, D Saha, G Purohit, A Kar, A Kishore Mukherjee, S Sharma, …
    • Journal: Scientific reports
    • Volume: 7
    • Issue: 1
    • Pages: 11541
    • Year: 2017
    • Citations: 52

 

  1. Title: Non-metastatic 2 (NME2)-mediated suppression of lung cancer metastasis involves transcriptional regulation of key cell adhesion factor vinculin
    • Authors: RK Thakur, VK Yadav, A Kumar, A Singh, K Pal, L Hoeppner, D Saha, …
    • Journal: Nucleic acids research
    • Volume: 42
    • Issue: 18
    • Pages: 11589-11600
    • Year: 2014
    • Citations: 48

 

  1. Title: Telomere repeatā€“binding factor 2 binds extensively to extra-telomeric G-quadruplexes and regulates the epigenetic status of several gene promoters
    • Authors: AK Mukherjee, S Sharma, S Bagri, R Kutum, P Kumar, A Hussain, P Singh, …
    • Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
    • Volume: 294
    • Issue: 47
    • Pages: 17709-17722
    • Year: 2019
    • Citations: 38

 

  1. Title: Metastases suppressor NME2 associates with telomere ends and telomerase and reduces telomerase activity within cells
    • Authors: A Kar, D Saha, G Purohit, A Singh, P Kumar, VK Yadav, P Kumar, …
    • Journal: Nucleic acids research
    • Volume: 40
    • Issue: 6
    • Pages: 2554-2565
    • Year: 2012
    • Citations: 34

 

  1. Title: ATF3 negatively regulates cellular antiviral signaling and autophagy in the absence of type I interferons
    • Authors: V Sood, KB Sharma, V Gupta, D Saha, P Dhapola, M Sharma, U Sen, …
    • Journal: Scientific reports
    • Volume: 7
    • Issue: 1
    • Pages: 8789
    • Year: 2017
    • Citations: 30

 

  1. Title: Fluorescent Dansylā€Guanosine Conjugates that Bind cā€MYC Promoter Gā€Quadruplex and Downregulate cā€MYC Expression
    • Authors: Y Pavan Kumar, P Saha, D Saha, I Bessi, H Schwalbe, S Chowdhury, …
    • Journal: ChemBioChem
    • Volume: 17
    • Issue: 5
    • Pages: 388-393
    • Year: 2016
    • Citations: 22