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About the speaker
Megha Padi earned her BSc degrees in Physics and Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her PhD. in theoretical physics at Harvard University. She then completed her postdoctoral training with John Quackenbush at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in computational genomics and network biology. She joined the University of Arizona in 2018 as an Assistant Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and is the Director of the Bioinformatics Shared Resource at the University of Arizona Cancer Centre.
Her group develops computational approaches for integrating genomic “Big Data” in order to characterise how cellular networks are altered in cancer. Megha and her research group want to unite network science with genomics and build mechanistic models that can explain the heterogeneity in disease progression and drug response. Currently, their research focuses on (i) understanding the way Merkel cell polyomavirus rewires host regulatory networks to induce skin cancer, and (ii) creating context-specific models of drug response in cancer cell lines.
Abstract
Translating network biology into new therapies for rare cancers
Networks have the potential to help us understand the intricate web of molecular mechanisms driving complex diseases like cancer. However, it remains a challenge to connect network models to wet-lab validation and extract functional insights with clinical impact. I will present two examples from my lab where we are working to bridge this gap. By studying how gene regulatory networks are rewired in Merkel cell carcinoma, we were able to identify pyrvinium pamoate as an inhibitor of cancer cell growth and confirm its mechanism of action and therapeutic potential through in vitro and mouse xenograft assays. In the second part, I will describe preliminary results from the largest multi-omics study of African-American colorectal cancers (AA CRCs) to date. AAs have historically exhibited higher rates of early-onset and poor-prognosis CRC. We have found molecular and network-based signatures that may shed light on this phenomenon and have translational implications.
About the seminar series
Once a month, NCMM invites international guest speakers to present on topics within molecular life science and medicine.
The seminar is open to all, with no registration needed.
Tea, coffee and a simple lunch will be served before the start of the seminar.
NCMM International seminar schedule for 2024 can be found here.