Ashok Srinivasan

About Ashok Srinivasan

Oncology is an active testbed for precision medicine. Every patient is different, so treatment must be highly individualized. Effective personalized medicine is within reach, but it is labor intensive and expensive. Although advances in immunotherapy, molecular/cellular profiling, and liquid biopsy driven serial monitoring are impactful, cancer drug development and precision oncology still have a long way to go. Of 71 consecutively approved cancer drugs (2002 – 2014), the median improvement in survival was just 2.1 months. A similar study in the UK estimated a 3.4-month median improvement in survival. My goal is to drive efforts to overcome barriers to effective precision medicine. Accomplished in oncology, genomics, NGS technologies, and clinical trials, my expertise is both broad and deep – extending from model systems (viruses, zebrafish, and mice) to humans, from wet-lab to informatics & data-analysis. With an understanding of issues ranging from basic science to human clinical trials, I can navigate the entire innovation process, translating preclinical science into therapeutic rationales, and to trial design, execution, and reporting.I mediate between clinical oncologists, surgeons, scientists, computational biologists, and other experts who each speak a different scientific language. I have also mentored dozens of young scientists including high schoolers, grad students, and research fellows with advanced degrees. I convey well-defined expectations and then establish concrete guidelines that help novice researchers meet those expectations.At the end of everything we do, there is a human being – a cancer patient, perhaps frightened by the diagnosis, worried about the financial toxicity of cancer care, wishing to live long enough to see their child graduate or get married. A career in oncology is about people at their most vulnerable.As cancer multi-omics, immuno-oncology, and metagenomics evolve into technologies capable of manipulating the genome, proteome, immune system, and microbiome for therapeutic ends, the insights gained will alter diagnosis and treatment strategies for many diseases, profoundly impacting human health. I have been privileged to have always worked at the cutting edge of science and technology. I plan to continue on that path by contributing to organizations whose powerful technologies will change the game and make a difference. t••••••••@yahoo.com 41••••••74

Experience

1. Chief Science Officer

   Lipedema Foundation

   Nov 2023 — Present

   The Lipedema Foundation funds basic and translational research to define, diagnose, and develop treatments for lipedema.

Education

• University of Cambridge

  Research in Genetics

• University of Pittsburgh

  Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D., Molecular Biology

• University of Madras

  Bachelor of Science - B.Sc., Biology