Pulivarthi H. Rao, PhD
- Cancer and Blood Disorders
Medical Director, Cancer Core Cytogenetics Laboratory, Division of Genomic Medicine, Department of Pathology and Immunology
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Office location:
1102 Bates Avenue
Houston, TX 77030
Get to know Pulivarthi H. Rao, PhD
Dr. Pulivarthi Rao is Medical Director of the Clinical Cancer Cytogenetics Laboratory in Genomic Medicine in the department of Pathology and a principal investigator for both the Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program and the Bone Tumor Research Program at Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center.
Education
| School | Education | Degree | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Human Genetics | Post-doctoral Fellowship | Research Training | 1988 |
| Nagarjuna University, India | PhD | Doctor of Philosophy | 1988 |
Organizations
| Organization Name | Role |
|---|---|
| American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) | Member |
| American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) | Member |
| American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG) | Member |
| American Society of Hematology (ASH) | Member |
| Children’s Oncology Group (COG) | Associate Member |
* 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.
Research Area:
Bone Tumors
Dr. Pulivarthi Rao is Director of the Cancer Cytogenetics Core Laboratory and a principal investigator for the Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program at Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center. He is certified with a Clinical Laboratory Cytogenetics Director License by the New York State Department of Health.
The main goals of the Rao laboratory are to identify oncogenes from the amplified chromosomal regions and the role of genomic instability in osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is the most frequent bone neoplasm in children and often present with a high number of chromosomal amplifications and deletions, suggesting that genomic instability is linked to tumor development.
Recently, he identified CDC5L, a cell cycle regulator gene as target for 6p12-p21 amplicon found in osteosarcoma. His recent in vivo studies suggest that CDC5L was a potential oncogene.
The goal of the laboratory is to investigate the role of CDC5L in the development of genomic instability and progression of osteosarcoma by overexpressing CDC5L cDNA and down-regulating by SiRNA in normal osteoblasts. A wide range of functional, comparative and cytogenetic techniques will be utilized in these studies, including: conventional and molecular cytogenetics- FISH, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), multicolor spectral karyotyping (SKY), and array CGH.
Research interests
The main goals of the Rao Laboratory are to identify oncogenes from the amplified chromosomal regions and the role of genomic instability in osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is the most frequent bone neoplasm in children and often present with a high number of chromosomal amplifications and deletions, suggesting that genomic instability is linked to tumor development. His laboratory identified CDC5L, a cell cycle regulator gene, as target for 6p12-p21 amplicon found in osteosarcoma and recent vivo studies suggest that CDC5L was a potential oncogene.. More specifically, the laboratory is investigating the role of CDC5L in the development of genomic instability and progression of osteosarcoma by overexpressing CDC5L cDNA and down-regulating by SiRNA in normal osteoblasts.