Dr. Radhika Nair

Qualifications & Academic Background

PhD, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi
Career Development Fellow, University of Cambridge, UK
Senior Research Officer, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Australia
Conjoint Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, St Vincent's Clinical School
Ramanujan Faculty Fellow, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology
Faculty, Centre for Human Genetics

Research Area

Breast Cancer Metastasis

Research

The laboratory focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying breast cancer metastasis, with particular emphasis on tumour heterogeneity and the cells responsible for establishing metastases at distant sites.

The research investigates how tumour cells survive at distant sites, including the mechanisms that regulate tumour-cell dormancy and their subsequent re-emergence at distant metastatic organs.

The laboratory studies both cell-intrinsic mechanisms and microenvironmental or cell-extrinsic mechanisms that support metastatic cells and their survival within the extracellular environment.

A key objective of this work is to identify critical molecules involved in metastasis and explore potential therapeutic vulnerabilities that could be targeted to prevent or treat metastatic disease.

Research Approach

The laboratory works in collaboration with clinicians, systems biologists and bioengineers to investigate the mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis.

Research combines experimental approaches with bioinformatics and artificial intelligence to identify critical molecular mechanisms and potential therapeutic vulnerabilities in metastatic cancer.

Lab Members

Neeha Sinai Borker
PhD
Rifat Aara
Project Assistant
Jyothilakshmi
Project Assistant

Teaching

Advanced Techniques in Genetic Research

MSc Semester 4 — HDG19. Module coordination and teaching covering phenotypic analysis of diseased or mutant tissue, flow cytometry-based cancer cell-cycle analysis, in-vivo tumorigenic assays in NOD-SCID mice, metastatic assays, immunohistochemistry of metastatic lesions, immunofluorescence, analysis of mutant cell phenotypes and cancer proliferation markers.

Advances in Genetic Disease Treatment: Cancer and Infertility

MSc Semester 4 — HDG20. Module coordination for the cancer component, covering cancer treatment and management, techniques revolutionizing cancer research, cancer drug discovery, classical and emerging drug targets, and in-vitro cancer drug screening systems.

Selected Publications

Repurposing Statins in Combination Therapy for effective ablation of metastatic breast cancer. Rifat Aara et al., Radhika Nair — Corresponding Author.
Advanced Therapeutics, under review, June 2025.
bioRxiv 2025.05.25.655937.
DOI: 10.1101/2025.05.25.655937
Role of Intratumoral heterogeneity in metastatic progression and drug resistance. Neeha Sinai Borker et al., Radhika Nair — Corresponding Author.
Discover Oncology, under review, April 2025.
Preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202504.1952.v1
Fabrication of Mirror Image Nanopores at Molecular and Cellular Level. Neilah Firzan CA et al., Radhika Nair.
Nature Communications, under review, January 2025.
Phenotypic heterogeneity drives differential disease outcome in a mouse model of Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Archana P. Thankamony et al., Radhika Nair.
Frontiers in Oncology, 2023.
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1230647
Unravelling the dangerous Duet between Cancer cell plasticity and drug resistance. Chatterjee, Namrata et al., Radhika Nair.
Computational and Systems Oncology, July 2023.
DOI: 10.1002/cso2.1051