Utthara Nayar

Utthara Nayar, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a primary affiliation in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Her research focuses on therapeutic resistance mechanisms in breast and ovarian cancers, particularly mutations in HER2 and FGFR/FGF pathways that drive endocrine therapy resistance. She employs functional genomics, deep mutational scanning, and whole-genome screening technologies to identify tumor cell-intrinsic signaling and therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Key research areas include:

• Therapeutic resistance in breast/ovarian cancer
• Transcriptional networks in endocrine resistance
• Oncogene variant-to-function mapping
• Inflammatory signaling in tumor evolution
• Genomic/epigenomic approaches

Selected publications reveal expertise in:

• HER2-low subtype resistance (2024)
• CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance (2023)
• ATP-competitive drug resistance (2020)

Scientific awards include:

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NIH)
• ASH Abstract Achievement Award
• Women in Cancer Research Scholar Award (AACR)
• NCI Transition Career Development Award (K22)
• Ho-Ching Yang Memorial Fellowship
• Discovery Award

Dr. Nayar leads the Nayar Laboratory, which trains cancer researchers and investigates:

• Transcriptional control of resistance
• Oncogene variant functional characterization
• Therapeutic vulnerabilities in resistant cancers
• Inflammatory signaling roles
• Whole-genome screening technologies