Dr. Praveen Kumar

Dr. Praveen Kumar

Position: ICMR Research Scientist

Scientific interest: I am fascinated to understand molecular mechanisms that contribute to ‘Cancer Biology’ particularly, Cancer Cell Metabolism, Organellar Biology, Cancer Relapse, combining high throughput omics data and molecular biology techniques. In my current role, I am working towards developing a fine understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying radioresistance in oral cancers using RNAseq. Oral cancers occupy the top position among Indian cancer patients according to GLOBOCAN 2022 report. Resistance to one of the mainstay therapeutic modalities, radiotherapy, is the major reason for oral cancer relapse and poor patient prognosis, the mechanisms of which are poorly understood. In this project, my work includes the isolation of patient-derived tumor cells, and the development of radioresistance models [in (a) patient-derived tumor cells, (b) spheroids, and (c) animal models] followed by Bulk RNAseq and scRNA sequencing. Specifically, in the current role I am working towards analyzing and combining transcriptome data using ‘Bash scripting’ and ‘R’ platforms to find out differential gene expression profiles suggestive of changes towards the development of radioresistance to predict the novel biomarkers indicative detection of radioresistant oral cancers.