Sakhila K Banu
Texas A&M University, USA
Biography
Dr. Sakhila Banu obtained her Bachelors and Master’s degrees from the Madurai Kamaraj University, India. She completed her MPhil and PhD degrees in Endocrinology from the University of Madras, India and pursued her post-doctoral fellowships at the Laval University and University of Montreal. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS), College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. She started an effective interdisciplinary research program in the field of female reproductive toxicology. Her major goal is to understand the adverse effects of chromium VI, a heavy metal endocrine disruptor in the environment, on female fertility and fetal development. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Department of Defense, and other private foundations. She received several awards such as USDA-NRI Merit Award, and Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Her specific research goal is to develop a strong basic research program in Reproductive Toxicology that can be translated to identify new intervention strategies for mitigating adverse effects of heavy metal endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Her long-term goals are two-fold: 1) to understand the molecular mechanism of heavy metal-induced adverse effects on ovarian and uterine function, pregnancy outcome, and placental and fetal development; 2) to understand the protective effects of various natural and synthetic antioxidants (such as edaravone, glutathione, vitamin C and resveratrol) against the deleterious effects of heavy-metal EDCs. Current research in her lab is focused on the study of reproductive and developmental toxicity of hexavalent chromium (CrVI). Drinking water contamination with CrVI in the United States is a growing problem due to increased usage of CrVI and improper disposal of Cr waste into the environment. Significant contamination with CrVI has been found in the drinking water sources of all the states in the U.S. Effects of Cr on reproductive health in women and development in children have received less attention. Epidemiological data document that women exposed to Cr in environmental or occupational settings suffer from infertility, gynecological problems, congenital malformation of fetuses, neonatal mortality, and premature abortions with increased levels of Cr in their blood, urine and placenta. Cr can bind directly to DNA and nuclear proteins, cause DNA strand breaks and mutations, alter the balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, and activate several cell signaling pathways. Therefore, her current research objective is to determine molecular pathways and identify target genes/proteins by which Cr alters prenatal development and organogenesis of female reproductive system in the offspring.
Abstract
Abstract : Chromium VI-induced reproductive toxicity: Mechanisms and intervention