Aiswaraya Sajeevan (Aisha), a master’s research student from the University of Queensland, is completing a research internship at Queensland Eye Institute (QEI) this summer.
Aisha’s project involves creating nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery. Specifically, she is preparing poly electrolyte complexes to carry enzymes for treating eye diseases. The project aims to reduce nanoparticles from 250 microns to 10 microns in size. This is an important step in QEI’s research on treating blindness caused by dermal fillers.
Other scientists around the world have examined this approach to enzyme therapy, but their reports aren’t always helpful, lacking the detail needed to run their experiments and reproduce the results. “I have to try different concentrations and proportions,” Aisha says, “because the published protocol I’m using isn’t very descriptive. I’d love to figure out what they have done.”
Despite the challenges, Aisha has made some progress in the few weeks she’s been at QEI. “I started producing particles measuring one millimetre, and then it came down to 250 microns, and I hope it will come to 10 microns very soon,” Aisha says.
Aisha, who completed her undergraduate degree in India, is enthusiastic about the advanced equipment and experienced teachers available at QEI and the University of Queensland.
The young scientist also understands her contribution may not lie in a new discovery, but in ruling out approaches that don’t work.
“It doesn’t matter if my experiments are a failure,” Aisha says, “because we’ll get to know that all these things won’t work.
“The person who comes after me can try something that I haven’t done. So that’s also a contribution,” Aisha says.
