Abstract titled "Investigating Cell-Type-Specific Expression of the Paralogs YAP and TAZ in Benign Breast Tissue Using Multiplex IHC," authored by Malavika S., Parth D., Abha T., L. S. Shashidhara, Chaitanyanand Koppiker, and Madhura Kulkarni, has been selected for an Oral Presentation at the FASEB Science Research Conference on Hippo Pathways in Biology and Disease.

Mousumi abstract, titled "A Deep Learning Pipeline for Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) Quantification in Breast Cancer," has been selected for an Oral Presentation at the 3rd Annual Congress of the Asian Society of Digital Pathology (ASDP 2026), to be held in Singapore from 1-3 November 2026. She also been awarded a Travel Grant to support her participation in the conference.

The selected works include Chaitanya research on machine learning-based identification of tertiary lymphoid structures in primary TNBC, Vedant’s investigation into the relationship between collagen deposition patterns in the tumor microenvironment and TNBC patient outcomes, and Parth's analysis of YAP and TAZ expression in epithelial cells and fibroblasts in benign breast tissue using multiplex immunofluorescence whole slide images.

Chaitanya graduated with a Master's degree in Bioinformatics from DAVV, Indore after successfully completing his Master's thesis project at CTCR. His study focused on the machine learning-based identification of Tertiary Lymphoid Structure (TLS) in primary breast tumors.

Sakshi has successfully qualified the CSIR-UGC JRF examination and joined Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ATREC) as a Research Assistant. She will work under the guidance of Dr. Sharath Arandkar, contributing to ongoing cancer research.

Malavika and Disha graduate with a BS-MS degree on the completion of their 5-year program at IISER, Pune.

Her abstract on spatial characterization of collagen deposition using digital pathology tools in Indian TNBC patients was selected for an e-poster presentation at the Annual Conference of the Asian Society for Digital Pathology held at Mumbai from October 10th to 12th.

The team participated in a lab showcase at the International Citizens' Science Conclave, organised by the Pune Knowledge Cluster. Through this event, the team interacted with school students and engaged citizens, explaining our biobank, the process of conducting research, and how this benefits patients in our clinic.

Her abstract on Immune Phenotyping in TNBC patients to understand Treatment Response was selected for a poster presentation at the Annual Congress of the European Association of Cancer Research, 2025 organized at Lisbon.

The team at IISER Pune visited PCCM office at NIBM and got to understand the organization of the Biobank. This was followed by a CTCR meet and greet where both teams explained their roles in the Centre's various projects.

Bhavesh, Irene, Sakshi and Vedant graduate with a BS-MS degree on the completion of their 5-year program at IISER Pune.

3 Master's Students from CTCR defended their thesis at IISER Pune. Bhavesh's study focused on PPP mediated regulation of YAP target genes in an Indian cohort of breast cancer patient samples using Immunohistochemistry and also explored its mechanistic role in breast cancer cell lines using Knockdown studies and total RNA sequencing. Sampada’s thesis research focused on understanding the immunoproteasome expression in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in breast cancer patients in an Indian cohort. Vedant's study explores the role of the TME, particularly collagen deposition in the TME, in determining TNBC prognosis in Indian patients. They are set to graduate with BS-MS degrees by the end of May 2025.

Khushi Salvi has joined as a PhD student at the Lab of Cellular Dynamics, headed by Dr Mylavarapu at RGB, Faridabad. Her project is focused understanding biogenesis of tunneling nanotubes in different cellular contexts.

Bhavesh V, Sampada Ghute and Vedant Ingawale present posters on their respective work at the Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Cancer Research. The conference was held at Kolkata from January 15th to 17th.

Sakshi Durge focused her research on 100 Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) patient samples tested for germline mutations, specifically BRCA mutations. Some samples tested positive for BRCA mutations, while others were wild-type for BRCA mutations. Her research aimed to establish a correlation between immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment and patient outcomes. Sakshi has submitted her final report and defended her project in this week.

Her abstract on the prognostication if TILs in Indian TNBC patients was selected for a poster presentation. The tumor microenvironment (TME) systems in precision medicine symposium , organized by Georg Speyer Haus, Frankfurt, centered on translational research related to TME, connecting it to clinical trials and entrepreneurship

Dr. Pooja successfully defended her thesis focused on profiling Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) within the Indian subcontinent, with a particular emphasis on immune infiltrates and targetable markers. Her research provides vital insights into this challenging molecular subtype, marking a significant advancement in the field, especially within the Indian context.

Her abstract on HER2+ve breast cancer and Hippo-YAP signaling was selected for a short talk at the 9th International Conference on Hippo Signaling in Development, Disease and New Therapies Conference at Bio polis, Singapore.

PhD student at the Institute of Genetics and Development of Rennes (IGDR). I will work with the Canine Genetics team led by Dr. André Catherine, exploring the biology of aging: Integrative analysis of genomic alterations involved in canine breed-specific lifespans.

Pooja Vaid, a PhD scholar, recently achieved a significant milestone by delivering her thesis pre-submission presentation on September 1, 2023, at Ashoka University. The topic of her presentation was "Molecular and Cellular Profiling of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in an Indian Cohort," and she has successfully passed this crucial stage of her academic journey.