Executive Committee Harikrishna Nakshatri, BVSc, PhD
Harikrishna Nakshatri, BVSc, PhD, was named associate director for education at the IU Simon Cancer Center in September 2009. Dr. Nakshatri is responsible for overseeing faculty development and training programs at the cancer center. He is also responsible for scholarship programs, seminars, and special events. As a senior leader, he plays a key role in setting the strategic direction, policies, and priorities of all educational and outreach activities.
Dr. Nakshatri' research interests are on the mechanisms of anti-estrogen resistance and metastasis in breast cancer. Dr. Nakshatri's ongoing research includes elucidating the mechanisms by which the serine/threonine kinase AKT alters estrogen signaling and confers anti-estrogen resistance.
His laboratory has identified and commercialized biomarkers that may predict response to anti-estrogen therapy. His laboratory demonstrated constitutive activation of the nuclear factor kappaB in a subset of breast cancer. Activated nuclear factor kappaB confers chemotherapy resistance and enhances metastasis. An inhibitor of nuclear factor kappaB developed by his lab in collaboration with other institutions is currently in a phase I clinical trial for cancer. National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, Susan G. Komen for Cure and other private foundations have funded his research. He is the author or co-author of more than 80 publications.
Dr. Nakshatri earned his bachelor's degree in veterinary sciences from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, India, and his doctorate from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Canada. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France.
He joined the IU School of Medicine in 1996. He has served and continues to serve on scientific review committees of the NIH, Department of Defense, and Susan G. Komen for Cure. He is also on the editorial boards of scientific journals. He is actively involved in training post-doctoral fellows, surgical residents, and medical students.