Senthil Radhakrishnan, PhD
Associate Professor & Interim Chair Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathogenesis
Associate Professor of Pathology & Interim Division Chair
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Associate Professor of Human and Molecular Genetics Member, VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Department: Pathology
Phone: (804) 828-7973
Email: Senthil.Radhakrishnan@vcuhealth.org
Senthil Radhakrishnan, PhD joined Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as an Assistant Professor of Pathology in July 2014. In 2021 he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. More recently in December 2022, he was appointed as the Interim Chair of the Division of Cellular & Molecular Pathogenesis. Currently, he also serves as a Member Scientist of the Massey Cancer Center and as an Affiliate Faculty of the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Human & Molecular Genetics at VCU.
Dr. Radhakrishnan received his undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from Anna University in Chennai, India. He then went to the University of Illinois at Chicago to complete his Master’s degree in Math & Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology. He subsequently received his post-doctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Raymond Deshaies at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Radhakrishnan’s research program focuses on understanding the role of protein degradation pathways in cancer and other pathologies. Apart from exploring the molecular mechanism behind these pathways, Dr. Radhakrishnan’s laboratory is also interested in translating these findings into therapies for various human diseases including cancer.
During his career, Dr. Radhakrishnan has been supported by research grants from the Department of Defense (Breast Cancer Research Program), the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, the Grace Science Foundation, American Cancer Society, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Radhakrishnan Lab
Contact Dr. Radhakrishnan for a full CV
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Dr. Senthil Radhakrishnan abbreviated CV
Education
1998 B.Tech, Industrial Biotechnology, Anna University, Chennai, India
2002 M.S., Math & Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago
2006 PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago
2014 Postdoctoral Research, California Institute of Technology
Selected Awards & Honors
2021 American Cancer Society (ACS) Research Scholar Award
2011 NIH/NCI Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
2011 The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Special Fellow Award
2007 Department of Defense (DoD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Multidisciplinary Postdoctoral Award
Recent Grants and Funding
Active
NIH/NCI
R01CA279255 (MPI: Radhakrishnan, Kleiger, Sergienko) 2023 – 2027
Identification of small molecule inhibitors of the DDI2 protease
NIH/NIGMS
R01GM132396 (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2019 – 2025
Nrf1-dependent Proteotoxic Stress Response
American Cancer Society (ACS)
RSG-21-036-01-TBE (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2021 – 2025
Understanding and Targeting Nrf1 Pathway in Triple-negative Breast Cancer
NIH/NIA
R03AG073884 (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2022 – 2025
Analysis of Nrf1 pathway in Alzheimer's Disease
Department of Defense (DoD) Rare Cancers Research Program
W81XWH-22-1-0938 (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2022 – 2024
Targeting the Sumoylation Pathway in Synovial Sarcoma
NIH/NCI
R01CA251405 (co-I: Radhakrishnan; PI: Atfi) 2020 – 2025
Targeting Transglutaminase 2 in cancer cachexia
Former Grants
Grace Science Foundation
Pilot Grant (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2018 – 2020
Investigating the autophagy pathway in NGLY1 deficient cells
NIH/NCI
R00CA154884 (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2014 – 2018
K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award – Independent Phase Understanding and targeting Nrf1-mediated proteasome recovery pathway in cancer
VCU Massey Cancer Center
ACS-IRG award (PI: Radhakrishnan) 2017 – 2018
Targeting SWI/SNF complex to improve efficacy of proteasome inhibitor therapy
Editorial Advisory Boards
PLoS ONE Editorial Board Member (from 2019)
Professional Service
2024 – present NCI Transition to Independence study section; Chartered member reviewer (4-year appointment until June 2028)
2024 – present American Cancer Society; Term member reviewer for Tumor Biochemistry & Endocrinology (TBE) study section (3-year appointment until Dec 2026)
2023 – present Member of VCU School of Medicine Graduate Programs Committee
2023 – present Alternate Member, Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Subcommittee on Research Safety (SRS) & Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
2023 – 2024 Member of Search Committee to recruit Chair of Pathology at VCU
2023 – present Member of Chairs’ Interdepartmental Research Collaboration (CIRC) initiative
2021 – present Vice Chair of the VCU Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC)
2018 – present Scientist Member of the VCU IACUC
2019 – 2020 Chair of Search Committee to recruit a faculty member for the Dept. of Pathology
2018 – present Chair for the Dept of Pathology “Grants in Progress” meetings where faculty members present their grant proposals and receive feedback
2016 – 2018 Member of Search Committee to recruit a Chair for Division of Cellular & Molecular Pathogenesis, Dept. of Pathology
2015 – 2017 Member of Search Committee to recruit Pathology Informaticist for Dept. of Pathology
Recent Invited Presentations
2024 Regulation of cellular proteolytic pathways by transcription factor Nrf1: Implications for Tau aggregates in Alzheimer’s Disease. New Investigators in Alzheimer's Disease Conference, Bethesda, MD
2023 Transcription factor Nrf1 regulates proteotoxic stress-induced autophagy. Grace Science Foundation meeting (Virtual).
2022 Regulation of cellular proteolytic pathways by transcription factor Nrf1. Fels Institute for Cancer Research & Molecular Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Transcriptional Regulation of the Proteasome: Implications for Cancer Therapy. Cell & Experimental Biology Conference (Virtual)
2018 Targeting the Nrf1-mediated proteasome recovery pathway in cancer. Discovery on Target conference, Boston, MA
2018 Nrf1-dependent protein quality control pathways in NGLY1-deficient cells. Grace Science Foundation conference, Palo Alto, CA
Publications
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/senthil%20kumar.radhakrishnan.1/bibliography/public/