1. Science at the heart of medicine
Department of Medicine
Division of Rheumatology
Department of Microbiology &
Immunology
Vyacheslav A. Adarichev, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine and
Microbiology & Immunology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Forchheimer 713
Bronx, New York 10461
718.430.3681; fax 718.430.8789
Vyacheslav.Adarichev@Einstein.yu.edu
July 17, 2012
To whom it may concern:
It gives me great pleasure to write this letter in support for Dr. Mohammed Talha Shekhani. I
know Talha for over two years now; he worked in my lab from July 2010 – July 2012 as a Research Fellow
in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology.
Talha came to my lab after completion of several rotations in research labs and with a
publication in Carcinogenesis. Providently, his research experience in carcinogenesis and Wnt-β-catenin
signaling turned out to be very useful for his recent project focused on dissecting cellular and molecular
pathways in inflammatory arthritis. Because of the serious and thoughtful attitude to the project and
due to strong analytical skills, Talha very fast got familiar with the current literature in the field. At the
same time, he progressed swiftly in mastering lab techniques. Presently, he is not only an expert in
routine histopathology of arthritic articular joints, but Talha also mastered tricky and laborious method
of immunohistochemical staining of paraffin-embedded skeletal tissues.
In a short period of training, Talha was able to demonstrate the presence of novel Collagen Triple
helix Repeat-containing protein CTHRC1 in rheumatoid synovium and in activated fibroblast-like
synoviocytes. Therefore, Talha found a new marker for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation. It is
interesting that CTHRC1 is primarily known as modulator of non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which
is implicated in tissue development, but not in inflammation.
Talha’s presentations are always thoughtful, detailed and interesting. His work has been already
presented at the American Association of Immunologists 2011 meeting in San Francisco, CA, and at the
invited talk in Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Scarborough, Maine. Talha’s abstract was also
accepted for oral presentation at the annual American College of Rheumatology meeting in Chicago, IL in
November 2011. Manuscript describing his two-year work is about to be submitted to Arthritis &
Rheumatism.
Talha was permanently involved in lab seminars and scientific discussions. He is well organized
and able to run several projects at the same time. He was an important member of the lab helping and
profitably communicating with others.
I believe that it was fortunate to have Talha in the lab. I fully support Talha for any endeavor he
may choose to embark upon. Please feel free to contact me if additional information would be helpful.
Sincerely,
Vyacheslav A. Adarichev, PhD