Deepa Sampath
Associate Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Hematopoeitic Biology and Malignancy
My research program focuses on elucidating the role of epigenetic regulators and oncogenic transcription factors such the Histone deacetylases, BRD4, PRMT5 and mutant p53 in driving resistance and tumor progression and in devising strategies to overcome resistance. My projects largely study the above mechanisms in leukemias such as CLL and AML and in solid tumors such as Glioblastoma.
In CLL, two major projects study the role of BRD4, HDAC’s and mutant p53 in driving resistance to the small molecule inhibitors of BTK and Bcl2. Strategies that overcome resistance to BTK and Bcl2 inhibitors encompass evaluation of novel PKC-b inhibitors and novel inhibitors of the Bcl2 family proteins both preclinically and in the context of investigator initiated clinical trials.
In AML, I focus on elucidating the role of DNA repair in driving resistance of AML to chemotherapeutics and strategies to restore sensitivity. Specifically, we are looking at the role of the NAD generating enzyme NAMPT in facilitating DNA repair and leukemia survival and evaluating targeting NAMPT in a clinical trial for patients with AML
In glioblastoma I have focused on targeting DNA repair, tumor heterogeneity and survival by targeting DNA repair, and epigenetic factors such as mutant p53 and PRMT5 for therapeutic benefit.
PubMed
Education & Training
PhD, The University of Texas Medical Branch, 1995