Krtin Nithiyanandam is a British

medical researcher Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

. He was awarded the

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

Innovator Award at the 2015

Google Science Fair The Google Science Fair was a worldwide (excluding Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country) online science competition sponsored by Google, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic ...

for his work on developing a novel diagnosis test for early-onset

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. The award came with $25,000. In 2017, Krtin's research on identifying a mechanism to make

triple-negative breast cancer Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is any breast cancer that lacks or show low levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression and/or gene amplification (i.e. the tum ...

more treatable won the Intermediate Science stream at the national Big Bang Fair. Recently, Nithiyanandam was the recipient of the U.K. Junior Water Prize for his project titled "A novel, photocatalytic, lead-sequestering bioplastic for sustainable water purification and

environmental remediation Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may al ...

". He represented the U.K. at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize. In 2017, Nithiyanandam was named as a Rising Star in Science by

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

and as one of

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

's 30 Most Influential Teens of 2017. Krtin currently attends

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Biography

Krtin Nithiyanandam was born in

Chennai, India Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

and moved to Britain with his family. Nithiyanandam's interest in the medical sciences started after he suffered from hearing impairment as a child. He studied at

Sutton Grammar School Sutton Grammar School (formerly Sutton Grammar School for Boys) is a selective state grammar school for boys aged 11-18 with a coeducational sixth form. Located in South London, the school's main site is in Sutton and its playing fields are in ...

. Nithiyanandam has explained his research at TEDxLondon, TEDxGateway,

WIRED ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

: Next Generation, and the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

, and has advocated for increased student participation in scientific research. Krtin is a member of Stanford University's Class of 2022.

Research

Alzheimer's research

Nithiyanandam's work focused on

oligomer In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers.Quote: ''Oligomer molecule: A molecule of intermediate relativ ...

amyloid beta Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) denotes peptides of 36–43 amino acids that are the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The peptides derive from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is ...

as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease instead of amyloid beta plaques. Nithiyanandam developed a

bispecific antibody A bispecific monoclonal antibody (BsMAb, BsAb) is an artificial protein that can simultaneously bind to two different types of antigen or two different epitopes on the same antigen. Naturally occurring antibodies typically only target one antigen. ...

composed of two different Fab' fragments: one fragment from an anti-oligomeric amyloid beta

IgG Immunoglobulin G (Ig G) is a type of antibody. Representing approximately 75% of serum antibodies in humans, IgG is the most common type of antibody found in blood circulation. IgG molecules are created and released by plasma B cells. Each IgG ...

molecule and another fragment from an anti-transferrin receptor

IgM Immunoglobulin M (IgM) is one of several isotypes of antibody (also known as immunoglobulin) that are produced by vertebrates. IgM is the largest antibody, and it is the first antibody to appear in the response to initial exposure to an antig ...

molecule. Nithiyanandam's bispecific antibody is conjugated to a

quantum dot Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having light, optical and electronics, electronic properties that differ from those of larger particles as a result of quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanote ...

with

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

and

fNIR Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an optical brain monitoring technique which uses near-infrared spectroscopy for the purpose of functional neuroimaging. Using fNIRS, brain activity is measured by using near-infrared light to estimat ...

detection capabilities. Nithiyanandam's ''in vitro'' studies suggest that the bispecific antibody quantum dot conjugate has little cross-reactivity and could potentially cross the blood-brain barrier. He won the Scientific American Innovator Award at the Google Science Fair for this work.

Cancer research

Nithiyanandam's research sought to develop a novel

siRNA Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded RNA at first non-coding RNA molecules, typically 20-24 (normally 21) base pairs in length, similar to miRNA, and operating wi ...

mechanism to decrease

ID4 ID4 is a protein coding gene. In humans, it encodes for the protein known as DNA-binding protein inhibitor ID-4. This protein is known to be involved in the regulation of many cellular processes during both prenatal development and tumorigenesi ...

expression in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers. Nithiyanandam found that a knockdown in ID4 expression resulted in aggressive triple-negative breast cancers developing primitive

oestrogen Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal activ ...

receptors on their surface, consequently making the cancer susceptible to existing breast-cancer treatments. Moreover, Nithiyanandam found that increasing PTEN expression in several breast cancer cells lines, including

MCF-7 MCF-7 is a breast cancer cell line isolated in 1970 from a 69-year-old White woman. MCF-7 is the acronym of Michigan Cancer Foundation-7, referring to the institute in Detroit where the cell line was established in 1973 by Herbert Soule and co-wor ...

, resulted in increased chemosensitivity to

cisplatin Cisplatin is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of cancers. These include testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, br ...

. However, increased PTEN expression in "healthy cell line" MCF10A resulted in decreased chemosensitivity to cisplatin. He was the winner of the Intermediate stream of the Big Bang Fair for his work.

Bioplastic research

Nithiyanandam developed a novel bioplastic capable of sequestering lead and purifying water through photocatalysis. CIWEM, the organisation that awards the U.K. Junior Water Prize, commented that Nithiyanandam's project focused "on meeting global wastewater management challenges, and exhibits wastewater as an opportunity rather than a waste product".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nithiyanandam, Krtin Living people Scientists from Chennai 2000 births People educated at Sutton Grammar School 21st-century British inventors Alzheimer's disease researchers British cancer researchers Environmental research Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom