Meet the Principal Investigator
Prasanna Alluri, M.D., Ph.D.
Prasanna Alluri, M.D., Ph.D. is a physician-scientist working at the interface of clinical oncology and translational breast cancer research. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Alluri received an M.D. from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in biological chemistry from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He completed a clinical residency in radiation oncology and a research fellowship in translational oncology in the laboratory of Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan, both at the University of Michigan Medical School.
Lab Members
Sahezeel Awadia, Ph.D.
Instructor
Dr. Awadia is an Instructor specializing in the molecular mechanisms of therapeutic resistance in aggressive cancers. His research focuses on identifying and mechanistically elucidating novel cell cycle regulatory pathways that drive resistance to targeted therapies in breast cancer. Notably, Dr. Awadia's work has defined the PI3K-CK1a-FADD signaling axis as a critical bypass of the standard CDK4/6-Rb-E2F checkpoint. This discovery, detailed in his foundational studies in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and subsequent Journal of Clinical Investigation (currently under revision), identifies FADD phosphorylation as a key inhibitor of the APC/C-Cdh1 complex and a promising therapeutic target to restore treatment sensitivity in luminal breast cancers.
Dr. Awadia employs a multidisciplinary approach that integrates high-content live-cell imaging, CRISPR-based gene editing, and patient-derived xenograft models. He further leverages his computational expertise in MATLAB and Python to apply machine learning techniques for the automated analysis of single-cell dynamics and high-throughput screening data. Prior to joining UT Southwestern, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Toledo, Ohio. His extensive research on Rho GTPase signaling and epithelial polarity has been featured in several high-impact journals, including the Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Scientific Reports.
Rachel Browning
Graduate Student
Rachel completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Abilene Christian University and followed as a research assistant in the lab of Dr. Bruce Beutler at UT Southwestern. Currently a graduate student in the Cancer Biology program at UTSW, Rachel seeks to understand how the immune system interacts with cancer and apply these findings to develop new therapeutic strategies.
Neha Kalakuntla
Medical Student
Neha Kalakuntla is a medical student at UT Southwestern. She received her B.S. in biosciences and B.A. in social policy analysis from Rice University. During her time at Rice, she conducted neuroimmunology, microbiology, and health policy research. Her current project in Dr. Alluri’s lab is focused on characterizing the effects of thoracic radiation on cardiotoxicity.
Sainan Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar
Dr. Li is a visiting scholar in the Alluri Lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She has both a clinical and research background in breast cancer, with a particular focus on therapeutic resistance. Her research interests include the molecular mechanisms underlying treatment resistance and the development of strategies to overcome resistance to systemic therapies. Currently, her work in the Alluri Lab focuses on investigating the mechanisms of resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors in breast cancer and exploring potential therapeutic strategies to restore treatment sensitivity. Dr. Li's long-term research goal is to advance translational research and develop more effective treatment strategies for patients with breast cancer.
Kamal Pandey, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Pandey received his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from CHA University, South Korea. He then carried out a post-doc term in his Ph.D. lab for a year. During his Ph.D. and post-doc periods, he focused on developing novel cancer therapeutics to enhance the efficacy of immuno-oncology drugs and overcome the resistance of targeted therapies in breast and ovarian cancers. Dr. Pandey is well trained in animal handling and has good skills in establishing humanized and PDTX mice models.
Dr. Pandey has published research and review articles in many peer-reviewed journals. His current research focuses on understanding the mechanisms involved in the development of drug resistance in breast cancer and possible therapeutic strategies that may overcome the resistance as well.
Lizbeth Perez-Castro, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Perez-Castro received her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she trained in the laboratory of Dr. Maralice Conacci-Sorrell. Her graduate research explored how the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and MYC drive tumorigenesis and metabolic reprogramming in cancer. She indentified scinderin (SCIN) as an AHR target gene that promotes colon cancer cell proliferation through activation of the WNT pathway. She also contributed to studies on the roles of tryptophan-derived metabolites in intestinal regeneration and colon and liver cancers.
Dr. Perez-Castro has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Communications, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Science, and Genes & Development. She currently conducts her postdoctoral research in the Alluri Lab, where she investigates the role of CDK6 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) resistance with the goal of identifying improved treatment strategies for TNBC patients.
| Alluri Lab Alumni | |
|---|---|
| Name | Role |
| Jessica Nguyen | Summer Research Fellowship 2018 |
| Liliana Tinoco | Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) 2018 |
| Qian Wang, Ph.D. | Senior Scientist |
| Monira Obaid | Research Fellow |
| Elizabeth Zhang-Velten, M.D., Ph.D. | Clinical Fellow |
| Isabella Raicu | Student - Emperor Science Award recipient |
| Ev Kakadiaris | Medical Student |
| Brian Lue | Medical Student |
| Jemsy Mathew | Research Technician |
| Ambrosia Simmons, M.D., Ph.D. | Clinical Fellow |
| Steven Montalvo, M.D. | Clinical Fellow |
| Taylor Jade-Higgins | Post-Baccalaureate Research Student |
| Mihir Shah | Student Intern |
| Sarah Elliott | Graduate Student |
| Nicole McCuen | Graduate Student |