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Samant

Rajeev Samant PhD

Research Scientist, Birmingham VA Health Care System | Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham

VA Birmingham health care

Email:

Personal Statement

I have been contributing to the field of cancer progression and metastasis for the last 20 years. My laboratory specializes in identifying and understanding unique molecular changes that influence metastatic progression of solid tumors. Specifically, our work focuses on impacts of developmental signaling and stress factors such on breast cancer progression. We routinely utilize xenograft and Genetically Engineered Mouse (GEM) models for pathologic and pre-clinical evaluation. We aim to functionally and mechanistically define and pre-clinically validate novel drug targets with a larger goal of developing new treatment options for metastatic disease.

Education

  • BS, Bombay University, Bombay, India
  • MS, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India
  • PhD, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India

Research Interests

  • Discovery of Breast Cancer Metastasis Suppressor gene (BRMS1) 
  • Identification of gatekeepers of the epithelial phenotype  
  • Understanding how tumor cells face stress factors 
  • Identification of regulation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling by stress chaperone 
  • A team player approach to targeting invasive and metastatic disease  

Recent Publications

  • Weeks SE, Metge BJ, Samant R.S. (2019) The nucleolus: a central response hub for the stressors that drive cancer progression. Cell Mol Life Sci.;76(22):4511-24. PMID: 31338556 PMCID: PMC6841648
  • Metge B.J., Kammerud S.C., Pruitt H.C., Shevde L.A., Samant R.S. (2020) Hypoxia re-programs 2'-O-Me modifications on ribosomal RNA. iScience. 24(1):102010. PMID: 33490918 PMCID: PMC6841648
  • Devine, D. J., Rostas, J. W., Metge, B. J., Das, S., Mulekar, M. S., Tucker, J. A., Grizzle, W. E., Buchsbaum, D. J., Shevde, L. A., Samant R. S. (2014) Loss of N-Myc interactor promotes epithelial- mesenchymal-transition by activation of TGF-β/SMAD signaling. Oncogene 33(20):   2620-2628. PMID: 23770854, PMCID: PMC4267223
  • Metge, B.J., Mitra, A., Chen. D., Shevde L.A., Samant R.S. (2015) N-Myc and STAT Interactor regulates autophagy and chemosensitivity in breast cancer cells. Sci Rep. 5:11995. PMID: 26146406 PMCID: PMC4648342
  • Pruitt, H.C., Metge, B.J., Weeks, S.E., Chen, D., Wei, S., Kesterson, R.A., Shevde, L.A., Samant,R.S. (2018). Conditional knockout of N-Myc and STAT Interactor Disrupts Normal Mammary Development and Enhances Metastatic Ability of Mammary Tumors. Oncogene 37(12):1610-1623.

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