Debananda Pati, PhD
Specialty:
- Cancer and Blood Disorders
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine (Primary Appointment)
Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine (Secondary Appointment)
Member, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine
Member, Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine
Office location:
1102 Bates Avenue
Houston, TX 77030
Get to know Debananda Pati, PhD
Educacion
| School | Education | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor College of Medicine | Post-doctoral Fellowship | Research Training | 2001 |
| University of Calgary, Canada | PhD | Doctor of Philosophy | 1995 |
| University of Buckingham | Masters | Master of Science | 1988 |
Organizaciones
| Nombre de la Organizacion | Rol |
|---|---|
| American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) | Member |
| American Society for Microbiology | Member |
| Endocrine Society | Member |
| Gulf Coast Consortia, Nanobiology Program | Member |
Honors and awards
- 2019
-
Research Award for Cancer in Children and Adolescents, CPRIT
- 2016
-
Research Award for Cancer in Children and Adolescents, CPRIT
- 2014
-
Bridging the Gap Early Translational Award, CPRIT
- 2010
-
Faculty Recognition Award (mentoring), Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center, Baylor College of Medicine
- 2008
-
Collaborative Research Award, Virginia & L.E. Simmons Family Foundation
- 2006
-
Distinguished Alumni Award, Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology
- 2001
-
Career Development Award, US Army Medical Research & Material Comm.
- 1999
-
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Special Fellowship
- 1998
-
LI-COR Biotechnology Long Read Sequencing Contest Prize
- 1996-1999
-
Postdoctoral Fellowship, US Army Breast Cancer Research Program
- 1993-1994
-
Minister of Advanced Education International Education Award, Canada
- 1993
-
Bettina Bahlsen Memorial Graduate Scholarship
- 1986-1988
-
Shared Scholarship, British Overseas Development Administration
- 1986
-
Best Graduate Gold Medal, Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology
* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.
Highlights
Area de investigacion:
Genetics and Genomics
Dr. Debananda Pati is a highly accomplished cancer biologist who is an internationally recognized leader in the field of chromosomal cohesion and separation and its role in carcinogenesis. He has a highly impressive track record not only in basic biology of chromosomal cohesion and separation, but devising novel and innovative approaches to target the cohesin pathway for treating refractory human cancers.
He is widely recognized nationally and internationally as a creative and innovative scientist and is specifically recognized for his identification and targeting of cohesin complex proteins and the cohesin-protease, separase for cancer therapy. Separase, an enzyme important for resolving chromosomal cohesion, is a novel oncogene and promoter of aneuploidy and tumorigenesis that Professor Pati demonstrated is an ideal target for cancer therapy. His laboratory was first to show that separase is an oncogene and aneuploidy promoter. In a series of publications in high impact journals, Dr. Pati and his colleagues demonstrated that overexpression of separase in mouse models not only induces aneuploidy but also results in tumorigenesis. The physiological relevance of these mouse studies was underscored by the Pati laboratory’s subsequent findings that separase protein is overexpressed in multiple human tumors including breast, bone, brain and prostate. Greater than 60% of human breast cancers, 50% of triple-negative and 83% of luminal B tumors overexpress separase. Separase overexpression strongly correlates with a high incidence of relapse and metastasis and a lower 5-year overall survival rate.
Dr. Pati’s studies provide new perspective on aneuploidy and indicate that misexpression of chromosomal segregation proteins represents a mechanism of aneuploidy development, and that aneuploidy may constitute a precursor to tumorigenesis. These results strengthened his hypothesis that tumor cell aneuploidy can be targeted for therapy by inhibiting separase enzyme activity, which is a major current focus in his laboratory. The long-term goal of the Pati laboratory is to further advance the understanding of the underlying biology of cohesin and separase in human malignancies, and to translate their discoveries from basic research into clinical applications. Towards that goal, his laboratory has identified five small molecular inhibitors of separase enzymatic activity (called Sepins) to treat separase-overexpressed refractory breast tumors, and several compounds targeting cohesin STAG2 mutant Ewing sarcoma and Down syndrome acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in children. Pati and his colleagues have initiated IND-enabling studies to test these compounds in preclinical studies. This work has funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), the Department of Defense and Kate Amato Foundation. A start-up company called Sepin Biotech has been formed by the Baylor College of Medicine to commercialize this product.
Dr. Pati has authored over 60 primary, peer-reviewed research articles, six book chapters, two peer reviewed commentaries, one patent and numerous abstracts presented at prestigious conferences.
Dr. Pati’s laboratory is part of the Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program and the Solid Tumor Program’s sarcoma research laboratories.