Published July 15, 2015
Dr. Sunitha V. Bachawal, a 2010 Ph.D. graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s
Pharmacy Ph.D. program, received a prestigious honor when her photo was chosen as
the cover image for the June issue of the journal, “Cancer Research: Driving Innovation
to Prevent and Cure Cancer.”
Dr. Paul Sylvester—the B.J. Robison/Pfizer Endowed Professor of Pharmacy, and Director
of Graduate Studies and Research in Pharmacy at ULM—served as Bachawal’s major professor
of pharmacology during her doctoral studies.
He said “Cancer Research” is considered one of the most highly cited and respected
cancer journals in the world.
The cover image, an “immunohistochemical microphotograph,” is taken from Bachawal’s
research article published in the same issue titled “Breast Cancer Detection by B7-H3-
Targeted Ultrasound Molecular Imaging.”
Immunohistochemical imaging uses B7-H3, a contrasting chemical agent, to target the
tumor vascular system during an ultrasound.
The agent serves as a complementary imaging method for detection of breast cancer,
and can be highly useful in patients with dense breast tissue. Diagnostic accuracy
of ultrasound in these patients can be significantly improved using B7-H3.
According to Sylvester, studies show that B7-H3 is differentially expressed in breast
cancer-associated vascular cells as compared to normal or benign breast tissue. B7-H3-targeted
ultrasound molecular imaging allows for the detection of breast cancer at early stages
of breast cancer development.
Bachawal is currently working in the Department of Radiology Molecular Imaging Program
at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, Calif.
