September 06, 2011
A published researcher even before earning his doctoral degree in
pharmaceutical sciences at St. John’s in September, Amit Kumar
Tiwari ‘09GP, ‘11Ph.D. has received a prestigious post-doctoral
fellowship as a cancer researcher at one of the nation’s premiere
medical centers.
Dr.
Tiwari is a double alumnus of the
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in St. John’s College
of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions. He began his new
research position in August at Mount Sinai Medical Center in
New York City. According to the National Institutes for Health
(NIH), Mount Sinai is among the top 18 U.S. medical schools in
research funding.
As a student, Dr. Tiwari published six first-author and 11
co-authored research papers in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals.
He presented at major conferences held by the American Association for Cancer
Research and the National
Cancer Institute, and is one of the few graduate students to
receive his own grant, a RayBiotech’s “Biomarker
Discovery Grant” for researching the body’s resistance to
anti-cancer therapies. St. John’s has honored him with an
“Outstanding Performance in Research” Award.
A Remarkable Graduate
Experience
At St. John’s, Dr. Tiwari primarily studied with
Zhe-Sheng (Jason) Chen, M.D., Ph.D., an Associate Professor of
Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in cancer research.
“We’re proud of his achievement,” said Dr. Chen, whose laboratory
research is supported by the NIH and other agencies. “Amit is an
outstanding scientist with great potential to make breakthroughs in
cancer research. We will miss his presence in our lab.”
“I appreciate everything I’ve gained at St. John’s,” said Dr.
Tiwari. “Dr. Chen is a source of guidance and inspiration. All my
professors have made my experience remarkably productive.” He also
has studied with
Charles Ashby, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences;
Byron Yoburn, Ph.D., Professor;
Blase Billack, Ph.D., Associate Professor and
S. William Zito, Ph.D., Professor.
Dr. Tiwari’s research explores ways to make anti-cancer drugs
more effective. He focuses on multi-drug resistance in chemotherapy
— uncovering and combating a cell’s natural resistance to the
chemical “transporters” that dispose medication. “It’s a mechanism
that cells have to expel toxins,” he explained. “Our challenge is
to identify and overcome those mechanisms, so cancer cells do not
expel significant amounts of the medication.”
Seeing relatives and friends suffering from cancer led Dr.
Tiwari to cancer research. Raised in Varanasi, a small town in
India, he attended Catholic schools in India and earned his
bachelor’s degree at Ram-Eesh Institute of Vocational and Technical
Education, in Greater Noida. “I am indebted,” he said, “to the
love, support and sacrifice of my parents. They instilled the
values that make me who I am today.”
Accepted for graduate study by four U.S. universities, he
entered St. John’s as a master’s degree student. He was awarded a
graduate assistantship and later, a full-tuition teaching
fellowship. In 2010, he received a University Doctoral Fellowship,
a highly competitive award granted no more than two St. John’s
students a year.
Dr. Tiwari’s goal now is to continue the research he began at
St. John’s. “If my research leads to even a few people being
healed,” he said, “I will consider my life worthwhile.”