Q and A with Cancer Biologist Priyamvada Rai, Ph.D.
Dr. Rai’s research looks to exploit the “greed” of cancer cells while sparing the health of normal cells.
Cancer cells are greedy, said Priyamvada Rai, Ph.D., co-leader of the Tumor Biology Program and professor of radiation oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Cancer cells grow aggressively and rely heavily on energy-producing metabolic pathways, which become points of vulnerability that Dr. Rai leverages in her research to eliminate cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
Dr. Rai talks about her research in the following interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell me about your research focus.
My research looks broadly at vulnerabilities associated with the metabolic “greed” of cancer cells. They often have high levels of oxidants, known as reactive oxygen species, which they use to drive cellular signaling that allows them to grow in an unrestrained manner and to survive the many stresses in a growing and evolving tumor. But this dependence also makes them vulnerable to oxidative damage of their DNA and cellular structures.
Aggressive cancer cells put up a molecular wall that separates the tumor-promoting role of the oxidants from their ability to damage cancer cells. We try to pull down those walls in a number of ways to expose this cancer cell-specific vulnerability.
We look at the biochemistry and the molecular biology of cells to identify the adaptations that protect them from the negative consequences of their metabolic greed. We then work with chemists and clinicians to identify new molecules and pre-existing drugs to target the mechanisms cancer cells use to protect themselves from oxidative damage. This approach has worked very well in several cancers we’ve studied, including lung cancer and prostate cancer, and we’re working with our medical collaborators to move our work into the clinic.
What was your path to this area of cancer research?
When I tell people I grew up in India, many assume I come from an engineering or medical family background. But everybody in my immediate family has liberal arts degrees, and they all joke that I’m the “mutant.”
I was a curious kid, perpetually setting up homemade experiments in biology and physics from books my parents bought me. My parents encouraged this interest and later supported my desire to go to college in the United States, at Caltech, where cutting-edge research could be done at the undergraduate level. At Caltech, I got to work in world-class labs studying genetics, mitochondrial biology and chemical physics, which taught me to embrace different aspects of science.
Aggressive cancer cells put up a molecular wall that separates the tumor-promoting role of the oxidants from their ability to damage cancer cells. We try to pull down those walls in a number of ways to expose this cancer cell-specific vulnerability.
Dr. Priyamvada Rai
I came to cancer research fairly late in my career, during my postdoc. My graduate work was on the structure and biophysics of DNA and their effects on oxidation reactions. Eventually I got to thinking more globally about the biological implications of my research, and I became interested in work from Dr. Robert Weinberg’s lab at the Whitehead Institute/MIT on how DNA damage at chromosome ends can stop tumor cells from growing. Despite my complete inexperience in cancer biology, he gave me a lot of leeway to explore how oxidants produced by cancer-causing oncogenes damage DNA and how cancer cells protect themselves from such damage.
How do you encourage collaboration through the Tumor Biology Program?
The cornerstone of research at Sylvester is collaborative excellence. The way to spark collaborations is by tapping into the natural curiosity of scientists and by building rapport and shared interests. Our program faculty members excel in different aspects of biology that converge on multiple aspects of cancer initiation, progression and treatment resistance.
It has been a pleasure to learn more about their research goals and breakthroughs through my role as program co-leader. Bringing faculty together to present their research at weekly seminars, retreats and symposia highlights common scientific themes and creates an atmosphere of shared purpose. As a program leader, I help provide resources and funding to develop new collaborative ventures that arise from these interactions.
You were a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship student, and now you direct the Miller School’s SURF program. Why are these programs important?
The SURF program attracts some of the best and brightest young minds from across the country to learn how to conduct rigorous research in the labs of our medical school faculty and gain comprehensive knowledge about the gamut of research approaches and technologies that comprise modern biomedical research.
For example, the SURF students attend a bioinformatics boot camp, where they get a first-hand look at the community research we do here. This training exposes them early to the idea that basic researchers can translate their research into the community through public health approaches or use bioinformatics and data science to expand the impact of their research models. That way, they are equipped with valuable information they can use to map their future career paths.
What activities do you enjoy outside of work?
I love gardening. I never realized that I could grow plants without killing them until I came to Miami. The tropical climate is so conducive to adventures in flora.
Tags: cancer research, DNA, Dr. Priyamvada Rai, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, SURF fellowship, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center