Jayanta Sarkar, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist, Cancer Biology
Our research is focused on exploring mechanism of action of lead molecules with anticancer activity, that are identified through screening, with particular emphasis on role of apoptosis and autophagy in promoting cancer cell death. While apoptosis is a critical and active process in maintaining tissue homeostasis, its defective regulation can promote tumorigenesis and plays as major barrier to effective anticancer therapy. On the contrary, autophagy has dual role in cancer. It can either function as tumor suppressor or promote cancer cell survival depending on the cancer stage, tissue and context. Although autophagy, in general, is known to promote cell survival by recycling energy under nutrient limiting conditions, it has also been demonstrated to trigger cell death after failed attempts to overcome lethal stress. Our major focus is to understand crosstalk between autophagy and apoptotic machinery in the development of new chemotherapeutic agents.