Ankit Balhara is the Drug Metabolism and Disposition Highlighted Trainee Author for the July 2021 issue. Mr. Balhara is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), India. He will complete his doctoral degree in August 2021. His mentor is Dr. Saranjit Singh. The DMD article that earned his selection as a Highlighted Trainee Author is titled "Comparative Proteomics Analysis of the Post-mitochondrial Supernatant Fraction of Human Lens-Free Whole Eye and Liver" and is available at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.120.000297.
In his dissertation work, Mr. Balhara has carried out the PBPK modeling studies on two anti-tubercular drugs, isoniazid and ethambutol. The PBPK studies on isoniazid are targeted to explore the gene-drug-drug interactions potential of the drug, employing in vitro inhibition data, whereas the studies on ethambutol are aimed to explore plausible mechanisms of its ocular toxicity. For these purposes, he has employed the quantitative proteomics data generated for ocular S9 and liver S9 fractions to predict the levels of drugs and metabolites in the eye using PBPK modeling. The work related to exploration of the proteome of ocular S9 and its comparison with that of liver S9 fraction in both qualitative and quantitative terms is presented in this article. This work was carried out in collaboration with the Prasad lab of Washington State University, Spokane, Washington, under the mentorship of Dr. Bhagwat Prasad. Dr. Abdul Basit also contributed equally in this work.
The findings of this study bear great significance in gaining deeper insights to the metabolic and bioactivation potential of both systemically as well as topically administered ophthalmic drugs, as well as in understanding endobiotic metabolism, within the eye. This investigation provides the foundation for subsequent, targeted proteomic, genomic, and functional studies to explore the effects of sex, age, genotype, and disease conditions across the populations.
Outside the lab, Ankit loves to play football, write poems, and read spiritual literature.