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The Dr. Prem Nath Wahi Award was instituted in 1990 by late Dr. P. N. Wahi, former DirectorGeneral,
ICMR for significant contributions made by a scientist in the field of basic and/or
clinical cytology and/or preventive oncology. The award for the year 2013 is being presented to
Dr. Priya Srinivas, Cancer Research Program, 5, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thycaud
P. O. Thiruvananthapuram for the research work on 'Preclinical evidence using plumbagin, an ROS
inducer against BRCA1 mutated cancers'.
Dr. Srinivas and her colleagues proved that a naphthaquinone derivative, plumbagin, isolated
from Plumbago species of plants, shows targeted anticancer activity in breast cancer gene-1 (BRCA1)
defective cancers. Along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated DNA damage, plumbagin
inhibits multiple tumourigenic pathways in DNA repair defective BRCA1 deficient cells, resulting in
induction of apoptosis.