Harsh K.V. Goyal

Research interests

Pancreatic cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality and encompasses multiple molecular and histopathological subtypes. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for the majority of cases. However, a subset of pancreatic cancers exhibits squamoid differentiation, is significantly more aggressive than conventional PDAC. My current research focuses on investigating the role of ASPP proteins, a family of regulators of p53-mediated apoptosis, in driving the emergence of squamoid features in pancreatic cancer. The ultimate goal is to elucidate previously underexplored molecular pathways, providing mechanistic insights into this highly aggressive pancreatic cancer subtype.

Background

I completed my M.Biotechnology degree at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. Subsequently, I joined the laboratory of Prof. Stefan Constantinescu at Ludwig Cancer Research, de Duve Institute, Brussels, Belgium, where I obtained my Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences. During my doctoral studies, I investigated the role of mutant p53 in the progression of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) to secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML), an aggressive and advanced form of hematologic malignancy. As part of this work, I developed a murine model that recapitulates the transformation of MPNs to sAML and got trained in techniques such as chromatin accessibility assays and bulk RNA sequencing, providing me with expertise in functional genomics and transcriptional regulation.