Rutgers Doctoral Student Advances Translational Cancer Research in the Glytsou Lab

When Saurav Doshi joined Dr. Christina Glytsou’s lab at Rutgers, he was stepping into a new research environment, a new field, and a newly established faculty lab. For Glytsou, an assistant professor whose lab combines basic biology with translational cancer research, Saurav stood out immediately.

“Saurav stood out immediately for his courage and enthusiasm in joining a newly established lab and stepping into a completely new field of research,” Glytsou said. “He was genuinely curious and eager to learn, while also being very modest, approachable, and thoughtful in his interactions with others.”

Saurav, a Ph.D. student at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and School of Graduate Studies, first connected with the lab through Professor Suzie Chen, who was then chair of the Department of Chemical Biology. Saurav had approached Chen in 2021 while completing his master’s degree in India and looking for a dissertation project related to cancer research and drug discovery. When Glytsou was establishing her lab at Rutgers, Chen recommended Saurav as a strong fit.

Saurav Doshi in the lab, where his doctoral research focuses on novel drug combinations for blood cancers.

For Saurav, the opportunity aligned closely with his interests. He had long been drawn to drug development for life-threatening diseases, first sparked by medical dramas such as House M.D. and Grey’s Anatomy, and later deepened through undergraduate research.

“I had a keen interest in cancer research due to one of my undergraduate professors who works in the field of breast cancer,” Saurav said. “One of her classic quotes was, ‘Cancer is a smart entity, always plotting against us to survive.’”

That idea stayed with him. Cancer’s ability to adapt, resist treatment, and survive became one of the central scientific puzzles that pushed him toward research.

“Finding a cure for cancer has been a challenge for the research community, and I wanted to be a part of the race,” he said.

Connecting Basic Biology and Translational Cancer Research

The Glytsou lab studies fundamental questions in biology while also pursuing research with potential clinical relevance. The lab is especially interested in mitochondria, mitochondrial plasticity, leukemia biology, and therapy resistance.

“We combine approaches of both basic biology and translational cancer research,” Glytsou said during an initial conversation for this story. “We still have a very strong interest in fundamental biology and want to address basic questions, like how mitochondria work.”

The lab asks how mitochondria contribute to leukemia progression and resistance to therapy. Saurav’s work is central to that research program. His project focuses on novel combinatorial drug regimens for blood cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“Saurav’s work is central to several key projects in the lab,” Glytsou said. “He has been using preclinical models to test novel drug combinations for cancer treatment, helping advance some of our most important translational research goals.”

His work has also helped extend the lab’s research into new directions.

“In addition, his work has expanded the scope of our research program into leukemia subtypes that the lab had not previously studied, opening exciting new directions for future investigation,” Glytsou said.