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Anindya Bagchi

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Jawaharlal Nehru University

ORCID iD 0000-0003-1365-7012
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About

I am an Associate Professor at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, where my laboratory focuses on the functional
genomics of cancer, with a particular emphasis on how recurrent copy number alterations at chromosome 8q24 rewire MYC driven
tumors. My work has concentrated on the MYC oncogene and its adjacent long noncoding RNA locus PVT1, which is frequently co
amplified with MYC and is required for full MYC oncogenic activity. In earlier work, my group showed that PVT1 is not merely a
passenger in the 8q24 amplicon but a critical modulator of MYC protein stability and tumorigenic potential (Tseng et al., Nature
2014). Building on this foundation, we have recently discovered that PVT1 encodes two previously unrecognized proteins with
opposing functions: an oncogene we named Firefox (FFX) and a tumor suppressive micropeptide we named Honeybadger (HNB). Our
Firefox study (Tiwari et al., accepted for paired publication in Genes & Development) demonstrates that CircPVT1 encoded FFX
couples AKT–mTORC1 signaling to the translational machinery and is essential for efficient translation of MYC mRNA and
maintenance of MYC dependent tumor growth. The companion Honeybadger study (Paithane et al., accepted for paired publication in
Genes & Development) shows that HNB directly engages KRAS to restrain RAS-MAPK signaling, thereby limiting MYC
stabilization and oncogenic output. Notably, cancer specific amplifications and translocations at PVT1 frequently preserve the FFX
encoding region while deleting the HNB encoding segment, revealing PVT1 as a multicistronic genetic hub that coordinates MYC
regulation through opposing oncogenic (FFX) and tumor suppressive (HNB) peptides. These two manuscripts have been accepted as
back to back papers in Genes & Development. Together with
our prior Nature work, they establish a coherent mechanistic framework in which a locus long annotated as “noncoding” exerts
precise, structure specific control over MYC translation and stability through circRNA and micropeptide encoded effectors.

Employment

  • Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute Associate Professor
    2017 - Present

Education

  • Jawaharlal Nehru University Ph.D.
    1995 - 2001

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (4)

  • The PVT1-MYC duet in cancer.
    Molecular & cellular oncology 2015 61 citations DOI: 10.4161/23723556.2014.974467
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  • PVT1 dependence in cancer with MYC copy-number increase.
    Nature 2014 746 citations DOI: 10.1038/nature13311
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  • Firefox, a Protein Encoded by Circular PVT1, Is Essential for MYC-Driven Oncogenesis
    Genes and Development (Accepted); 2026 May.
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  • Honeybadger, a Micropeptide Encoded by an Alternative PVT1 Transcript, Is a Critical Negative Regulator of RAS–MAPK Signaling in MYC-Driven Tumors.
    Genes and Development (Accepted); 2026 May
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