Avinash Kumar

Avinash Kumar serves as a Research Scientist at the Cancer Research laboratories within Long Island University's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he also directs the Small Animal Imaging Core facility. He joined LIU after completing postdoctoral research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's Cancer Institute (2013-2016), following a Department of Biotechnology Postdoctoral Fellowship in India.

His educational foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in protein biochemistry and biophysics from National Chemical Laboratory, University of Pune (2012)
• DBT-Postdoctoral Fellowship at National Center for Cell Science, Pune
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at University of Mississippi Medical Center

Dr. Kumar's research centers on MTA1's role in prostate cancer progression and metastasis, investigating how this chromatin modifier promotes tumor development through epigenetic regulation and PTEN inactivation. His work pioneers dietary stilbenes like resveratrol and pterostilbene as MTA1-targeted chemopreventive agents, with recent studies expanding into AI-driven drug discovery and combination therapies for treatment-resistant disease. His laboratory utilizes genetically engineered mouse models to study prostate cancer initiation and progression.

Analysis of his publication record reveals consistent focus on MTA1 biology and natural product interventions, with increasing emphasis on translational applications including preclinical IND-enabling studies and AI-based therapeutic development. His work bridges molecular oncology, epigenetics, and nutritional science to develop novel prostate cancer strategies.

His scientific recognition includes:

• Best Poster Award at UMMC Research Day (2015)
• Keerthi Sangoram Memorial Endowment Award (2012)
• DBT-Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011)
• CSIR-UGC Senior Research Fellowship (2008)
• CSIR-UGC Junior Research Fellowship (2006)

Dr. Kumar actively mentors junior researchers as evidenced by his senior authorship on numerous student presentations at AACR meetings and institutional Discovery Days. He serves as an ad-hoc journal reviewer and maintains active membership in the American Association for Cancer Research. His laboratory directs the Small Animal Imaging Core facility, providing critical preclinical imaging resources for cancer research while collaborating closely with Dr. Levenson's team on prostate cancer mechanisms.