PI
Akash Gunjan Ph.D.
After finishing college in India, Dr. Gunjan moved to the United States to obtain his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He then moved to London, England, to carry out his post-doctoral research work at Cancer Research UK. Dr. Gunjan has over three decades of experience in the field of chromatin structure and function and over two decades of experience in DNA damage and repair. He joined the faculty of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in March 2005. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in August 2013.
Dr. Gunjan is a research scientist trying to understand how chromatin structure and its components such as histones contribute to the maintenance of genomic stability, especially in response to DNA damage. Genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer cells, and Dr. Gunjan’s research will improve our understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying cancer, thereby leading to the development of new therapies for cancer and other proliferative diseases. Dr. Gunjan is also working on developing therapeutics for fibrotic diseases. Apart from research, Dr. Gunjan is involved in teaching various graduate level courses that draw upon his expertise in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, epigenetics and cancer biology.