E. Premkumar Reddy

E. Premkumar Reddy is a biologist. He obtained his Ph. D. in molecular biology in 1971 from the Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. After post-doctoral training in the United States of America at the UCLA School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), he joined the NCI, with which he was associated till 1984 as the chief of the molecular genetics section.

In 1984, he moved to Hoffman LaRoche Roche Institute of molecular biology as a full member and in 1986, he joined the Wistar Institute as their deputy director. In 1992, he was appointed as the Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, which is affiliated with Temple University. He moved to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2010 where he is the Director of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics Institute and Professor in the Departments of Oncological Sciences and Structural and Chemical Biology. Dr. Reddy served as a member of the board of directors of NIEHS from 1990-1995. He co-founded the international cancer journal Oncogene in 1986, for which he served as an Editor from 1986 to 2009. In 2010, he fonded a new cancer journal named 'Genes & Cancer' for which he serves as the Editor-in-Chief. In 1993, he was awarded the Scientific Achievement award by the American Cancer Society.

Reddy has published over 250 papers. The most notable of his findings are the molecular cloning and sequence determination of a number of viral oncogenes and their cellular homologues. In collaboration with Mariano Barbacid, he was also one of the first to demonstrate that ras genes are activated in human cancers by point mutations. His most recent findings include the generation of A-myb and CDK4 null mutant mice and delineation of the apoptotic mechanisms associated with hematopoietic cell death. His recent work centers around the role of cell cycle and apoptotic genes in cancer progression and as targets for the development of novel anticancer drugs. This work has led to the development of novel therapeutic agents that can differentially induce apoptosis in tumor cells and spare normal cells. One of the drugs developed by his team (ON01910/Estybon) is currently in Phase II clinical trials and shows promise as a powerful anti-cancer agent, especially for the treatment of Myelo Dysplastic Syndrome (MDS).

According to data published in 2000 by the Institute of Scientific Information, which compiled the list of most highly cited authors, Dr. Reddy was amongst the top 0.5% of the most highly cited authors in the world.

Related links

• Genes & Cancer journal edited by E. Premkumar Reddy