Ali Afsari

Ali Afsari, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer prognosis, particularly in ethnic populations. He has conducted significant studies on microRNA (miRNA) expression patterns in African-American patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), identifying miRNA panels associated with tumor aggressiveness and survival outcomes.

His work employs advanced bioinformatics tools like KMplotter and miRTargetLink to map miRNA/mRNA networks, revealing critical cancer-related genes such as AKT1, BCL2, and PTEN. The research emphasizes proteoglycan and glycan pathways as key contributors to TNBC progression in African-American populations.

Dr. Afsari's study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (P30 CA016058, P30 CA051008, U54 MD007597). His findings highlight the role of miRNA deregulation in conferring aggressive phenotypes to TNBC cells, offering potential biomarkers for early detection and therapeutic targeting.