Rajeev S. Samant, PhD
Dr. Samant received his M.S. and Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai, India). He worked in the field of metastasis suppression in the laboratory of Dr. Danny R. Welch at Hershey, PA. He was a faculty member at the Mitchell Cancer Institute, University of South Alabama (2004-2012) before joining UAB in 2012. He is an active member of both UAB’s NORC and the UAB – Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Education
- 1991 – B.S., Chemistry, University of Bombay, India
- 1993 – M.S., Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay, India
- 1998 – Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Bombay, India
Research Interests
We specialize in identifying and elucidating unique molecular changes that influence metastatic progression of solid tumors. Specifically, our work focuses on impacts of
developmental signaling and stress factors on breast cancer progression. The principal focus is to identify and understand the functional contributions of unique transcriptional, translational changes which affect tumor invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT), and crosstalk of tumor cells with the tumor microenvironment.
We routinely utilize 3D organoids, xenograft and Genetically Engineered Mouse (GEM) models for pathologic and pre-clinical evaluation. We aim to functionally and
mechanistically define and pre-clinically validate novel drug targets with a larger goal of developing new treatment options for metastatic disease. We are keenly interested in
deciphering contributions of the nucleolus and ribosome biogenesis in tumor progression and metastasis.
