Akhil Srivastava, PhD

Akhil Srivastava, PhD

Pathology and Anatomical Sciences

Director of Graduate Studies
Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology

573-884-3634

Profile

Dr. Srivastava leads projects studying the molecular basis of cancer pathophysiology and developing novel anti-cancer therapeutic strategies focusing on Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) or ‘exosomes.’ The area of interest includes elucidating the function of cancer cell-derived EVs in creating a favorable ecosystem for establishing a cancer lesion site, modulating the immune system, and developing resistance to therapies. He is also interested in studying the molecular composition of EVs to decipher stringent molecular signals that can be used to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for high-precision cancer diagnosis and treatment prediction. In addition, to leverage the translational potential of EVs, Dr. Srivastava has engineered EVs as a novel biomimetic multifunctional theranostic system for the simultaneous tumor-targeted delivery of anti-cancer therapeutics and imaging.

Academic Information

Director of Graduate Studies
Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology

Office

1 Hospital Drive
Medical Science Bldg, MA102-B
Columbia, MO 65201
United States

P. 573-884-3634

Research Interests

  • Pathobiology of solid tumors
  • Cancer metastasis
  • Tumor microenvironment
  • Minimal and non-invasive liquid biopsy
  • Biomarker discovery
  • Experimental therapeutics
  • Gene/drug delivery (Theranostics)

Areas of Expertise

  • Lung cancer
  • Mammalian cell culture (2-D and spheroids)
  • Organoids
  • Cancer mouse models
  • Small animal imaging
  • Multi-omics strategy
  • Nanomedicine

Education & Training

Degrees

2013 PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Fellowship

2013-2019 Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Awards & Honors

  • Career Development Award, Lung Cancer Research Program, Department of Defense (2021).
  • Trainee Spotlight by Cancer Biology Program of Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2020).
  • College of Medicine Postdoctoral Research Award, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2018).
  • Oral presentation award clinical and correlative research track, Stephenson Cancer Center, Annual Cancer Research Retreat, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2018).
  • Poster presentation award post-doctoral fellow category, Emerging Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery Applications for Cancer-‘End2Cancer’ symposium, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (2017).
  • Poster presentation award: post-doctoral fellow category, Stephenson Cancer Center, Annual Cancer Research Retreat, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (2016).
  • First place, PhD Oral presentation, 24th College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and College of Engineering (CoE), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Annual Student Research Symposium (2012).
  • First place, PhD poster presentation in the 23rd College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and College of Engineering (CoE), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Annual Student Research Symposium (2011).

Publications

  • Karami, D., Srivastava, A., Ramesh, R., & Sikavitsas, V. I.
    2022. Investigating Cancerous Exosomes' Effects on CD8+ T-Cell IL-2 Production in a 3D Unidirectional Flow Bioreactor Using 3D Printed, RGD-Functionalized PLLA Scaffolds.
    Journal of functional biomaterials, 13(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb13010030
  • Srivastava, A., Rathore, S., Munshi, A., & Ramesh, R.
    Organically derived exosomes as carriers of anticancer drugs and imaging agents for cancer treatment. 2022.
    Seminars in cancer biology, S1044-579X(22)00047-5. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2022.02.020
  • Raguraman, R., Srivastava, A., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2021. Therapeutic approaches targeting molecular signaling pathways common to diabetes, lung diseases and cancer.
    Advanced drug delivery reviews, 113918. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2021.113918
  • Srivastava, A., Rathore, S., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2021. Extracellular Vesicles in oncology: from immune suppression to immunotherapy. The AAPS journal, 23(2), 30. https://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-021-00554-4
  • Ahmed, R., Muralidharan, R., Srivastava, A., Johnston, S.E., Zhao, Y.D., Ekmekcioglu, S., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2021. Molecular Targeting of HuR oncoprotein suppresses MITF and induces apoptosis in melanoma cells.
    Cancers 13, 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13020166
  • Chinnappan, M., Srivastava, A., Amreddy, N., Razaq, M., Pareek, V., Ahmed, R., Mehta, M., Peterson, J.E., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2020. Exosomes as drug delivery vehicle and contributor of resistance to anticancer drugs.
    Cancer Letters. 486; 18-28: 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2020.05.004.
  • Srivastava, A., Amreddy, N., Pareek, V., Chinnappan, M., Ahmed, R., Mehta, M., Razaq, M., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2020 Progress in extracellular vesicle biology and their application in cancer medicine.
    WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology.e1621; doi:10.1002/wnan.1621. PMID: 32131140.
  • Panneerselvam, J., Srivastava, A., Mehta, M., Chen, A., Zhao, Y., Munshi, A., Ramesh, R.
    2019. IL-24 inhibits lung cancer growth by suppressing GLI1 and inducing DNA damage.
    Cancers 11(12). pii: E1879. doi: 10.3390/cancers11121879