Sandeep Gurbuxani, MBBS, PhD

Hematopathology.

I am interested in mechanisms of resistance to chemotherapy induce cell death in cancer. The focus of my current research is the mechanism of glucocorticoid induced cell death (and the resistance to this cell death) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

While significant progress has been made in the therapy of childhood ALL, the outcome for adult ALL and relapsed ALL remains poor. Glucocorticoids (GCs) such as dexamethasone and prednisone are the mainstay of ALL therapy. Multiple studies in childhood ALL have demonstrated GC resistance measured in vitro as well as in vivo after GC monotherapy to be the single most important predictor of response to therapy in childhood ALL. In spite of the crucial role of GCs in ALL therapy, the mechanisms of cell death induced upon GC exposure are poorly understood. Understanding the pathway(s) involved in GC mediated cell death is a crucial first step in understanding the mechanisms of GC resistance in ALL.

I am also interested in the process of hematopoiesis - specifically the pro survival signals required during hematopoietic differentiation. Additional interests include the biology of myeloproliferative neoplasms.