Viraj Sanghvi, PhD

  • Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine)
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Overview

Dr. Sanghvi received his B.S. in biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from Drexel University College of Medicine, where his research focused on the pathobiology of HIV-1. He did his postdoctoral training at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center studying the role of oncogenic non-coding RNAs and oxidative transcription factor NRF2. Following a short tenure at the University of Miami, Dr. Sanghvi joined Columbia University Medical Center as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. He is also a member of the Naomi Barrie Diabetes Center,  Digestive and Liver Diseases Research Center, and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine)

Languages

  • English
  • Hindi

Gender

  • Male

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • BSc, Chemistry, St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, India
  • BS, Biotechnology, Rochester Institute of Technology
  • PhD, Drexel University School of Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 2022: Research Scholar of the American Cancer Society
  • 2021: Career Development Award, Department of Defense
  • 2020: Concept Award, Department of Defense
  • 2020: Young Investigator Award, Rally Foundation
  • 2019: Young Investigator Award, 6th International Conference on Tumor Microenvironment and Cellular Stress, Crete, Greece
  • 2019: Best poster presentation award, 20th   International  AEK  Cancer Congress, Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2010: Keystone Symposia Scholarship, Conference  on HIV-1 Biology and Pathogenesis, Santa Fe, NM
  • 2010: Young Investigator Award, Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, San Francisco, CA

Research

The Sanghvi lab pursues basic discovery and translational research in obesity and cancer biology. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the role of caloric excess and over-nutrition in oncogenesis and therapeutic response. Specifically, our research programs fall in one of the following related areas:

  1. Understanding the pathological and clinical implications of non-enzymatic protein modifications, such as glycation, in obesity and cancer.
  2. Investigating aberrant redox and metabolic signaling in cancer.
  3. Understanding the effects of nutrient availability and excess on tumor microenvironment and antitumor immunity.

To accomplish this, we leverage a variety of genetically engineered mouse models, functional genomics and proteomics approaches, genome editing technology, and innovative screening platforms.

Research Interests

  • Diabetes
  • Immunotherapy
  • Liver Cancer
  • Lung Cancer
  • Metabolism
  • Obesity

Grants

NIGMS R35 MIRA
Understanding Glycation: Sweet Side of Protein Regulation

American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant
Understanding and Targeting Metabolic Deglycation in Liver Cancer

Department of Defense LCRP Career Development Award
Understanding and Targeting Metabolic Deglycation in Lung Cancer

NYNORC P & F Award
Understanding the role of metabolic glycation in Obesity

Selected Publications

  1. Zhang M, Zhao Z, Pritykin Y, Hannum M, Scott AC, Kuo F, Sanghvi V, Chan TA, Seshan V, Wendel HG, Schientinger A, Sadelain M, and Huse M (2021) Ectopic activation of the miR-200c0EpCAM axis enhances antitumor T cell responses in models of adoptive cell therapy, Science Transl Med Sep 15;13(611)
  2. Sanghvi VR, Leibold J, Mina M, Mohan P, Berishaj M, Li Z, Miele MM, Lailler N, Zhao C, de Stanchina E, Viale A, Akkari L, Lowe SW, Ciriello G, Hendrickson RC, and Wendel HG (2019) The oncogenic action of NRF2 depends on de-glycation by Fructosamine-3-kinase. Cell, 178(4):807-19
  3. Boice M*, Salloum D*, Mourcin F*, Sanghvi VR, Amin R, Oricchio E, Jiang M, Mottok A, Denis-Lagache N, Ciriello G, Tam W, Teruya-Feldstein J, De Stanchina E, Chan WC, Malek SN, Ennishi D, Brentjens RJ, Gascoyne RD, Cogné M, Tarte K, and Wendel HG (2016) Loss of the HVEM tumor suppressor in lymphoma and restoration by modified CAR-T cells, Cell 167(2):405-418
  4. Van Der Meulan J, Sanghvi VR, Mavrakis K, Durinck K, Fang F, Matthijssens F, Rondou P, Rosen Pieters T, Vandenberghe P, Delabesse P, Lammens T, De Moerloose B, Menten B, Van Roy N, Verhasselt B, Poppe B, Benoit Y, Taghon T, Melnick AM, Speleman F, Wendel HG, and Van Vlierberghe (2014) The H3K27me3 demethylase UTX is a gender-specific tumor suppressor in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Blood, 125(1):13-21
  5. Wolfe AL, Singh K, Zhong  Y, Drewe  P, Rajasekhar  VK, Sanghvi VR, Mavrakis K, Jiang M, Roderick JE, Van der Meulen J, Schatz JH, Rodrigo CM, Zhao C, Rondou P, de Stanchina E, Teruya-Feldstein J, Speleman F, Porco JA Jr, Pelletier J, Rätsch G, and Wendel HG. (2014)  RNA  G-quadruplexes cause eIF4A-dependent  oncogene translation in cancer, Nature 513(7516):65-70
  6. Sanghvi VR and Steel LF, (2011) The cellular  TAR RNA binding  protein,  TRBP, promotes HIV-1 replication by inhibiting the activation of double-stranded RNA-dependent kinase PKR, Journal of Virology, 85(23):21614-21

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov