SM

Sandeep Mittal

AVM Biotechnology (United States), University of Gothenburg, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

ORCID iD 0000-0003-4616-1064
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About

I started my current position as Senior Research Scientist at AVM Biotechnology LLC, Seattle, WA, USA in July 2022 after finishing my two postdoctoral research fellowships: first in the Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis and second with Dr. John F. deGroot in the Department of Neuro-Oncology, both at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA. Throughout my research career, I gained experience working with various primary and established human cell lines along with different mouse models, which are part of ongoing projects at AVM Biotechnology. Also, I have advised and mentored several undergraduate and graduate students which makes me highly qualified to assist the research team at AVM Biotechnology.
As a Senior Research Scientist at AVM Biotechnology, I have been involved in the successful development of non-GCB lymphoma and diabetes mouse models to evaluate the efficacy of lead candidate AVM0703 as an anti-cancer compound and in the prevention of diabetes, respectively. AVM0703 has been shown to activate and mobilize “supercharged” γδTCR+iTCR+ T-Lymphocytes and nature killer T-like (NKT) cells which recognize phosphoantigens expressed by stressed, cancer, and infected cells contrary to normal cells. Preclinical studies at AVM have shown that AVM0703 has a profound effect on immune immune-resistant A20 lymphoma mouse model, and melanoma model. I have participated in one NIH SBIR Phase II program awarded in 2022 by the PI Dr. Theresa Deisher for the validation of AVM0703's ability to reverse new-onset and established Type I Diabetes. The results of this study demonstrated that AVM0703 has a significant response against autoreactive lymphocytes in the NOD Type 1 diabetes model. I have also been involved in the clinical development of AVM0703 to Phase 2 trials in the US and Canada for relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patients and entitled as a senior key person in the proposed SBIR Phase II grant to determine the preliminary efficacy of AVM0703 in specific patient cohorts when administered at one or more Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D) dose levels based on the Phase 1 results. Clinically, AVM0703 has shown an absence of safety concerns with side effects limited to grade 1-3 in multiple NHL subtypes and solid tumors patients enrolled through clinical trial and FDA-approved compassionate use program. I will provide technical and scientific supervision for the research work in the proposed project. My research performed at AVM will contribute to the validation of pharmacodynamic studies for patients treated with AVM0703 and will support PI Dr. Deisher for the regulatory documents required in the proposed project.
As a graduate student, I started to gain knowledge about the unique physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials which can be harnessed for several biological purposes including drug delivery in cancer while developing a strong knowledge of toxicity assessment, cancer biology, molecular biology in the laboratory of Dr. Alok Kumar Pandey at CSIR-IITR in India. This work led to the discovery of the size and shape-dependent toxicity of graphene oxide in the pulmonary system through hijacking autophagy/apoptosis and received several national and international academic and travel awards along with a series of first-author papers. Later, we collaborated with Dr. Surinder P. Singh at CSIR-NCL in India and prepared the chloroquine (an anti-malarial and anti-cancer drug) loaded graphene oxide for the treatment of lung cancer through harnessing the power of chloroquine to block autophagy. During this time, I developed expertise in cancer biology and experimental design, the critical review of primary literature, and scientific communication which allowed me to be extremely productive as a graduate student.
For my postdoctoral training, I chose to join Dr. John F. deGroot’s laboratory, an internationally recognized leader in the field of treatment and management of brain tumors, with a focus on the role of the immune system in the progression of GBM (WHO-grade IV brain tumor), because of my ongoing interest in the complexity of therapeutic resistance in cancer. Under Dr. deGroot’s guidance, I became well-trained in GBM biology and developed a project that determined the role of the complement system (part of the innate immune system) in the pathogenesis of GBM. This work led to the discovery of the undefined role of complement system-related proteins in GBM and their role in the growth potential of glioma stem cells (GSCs) and is under publication. After successfully completing my 2-year training in the Department of Neuro-Oncology, I moved to Dr. Margarida Almeida Santos’s lab in the Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis (EMC) to focus on the role of epigenetic regulation and Protein Arginine Methyltransferases (PRMTs) on B-cell biology and lymphoma. Under the mentorship of Dr. Santos and with the assistance of Dr. Michael Green (a leading expert in lymphoma bio

Employment

  • AVM Biotechnology (United States) Senior Research Scientist
    2022 - Present
  • University of Gothenburg Postdoctoral Fellow
    2022 - 2022
  • The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Fellow
    2020 - 2021
  • University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Postdoctoral Fellow
    2018 - 2020
  • Houston Methodist Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
    2017 - 2018
  • Indian Institute of Toxicology Research Research Associate
    2016 - 2017

Education

  • Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Doctor of Philosophy
    2010 - 2016
  • Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Master of Science
    2008 - 2010
  • University of Rajasthan Bachelor of Science
    2005 - 2008

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (20)