Sankar Mitra

Sankar Mitra, PhD

Emeritus Professor of Neurosurgery, Academic Institute
Full Emeritus Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist


Biography

Dr. Mitra had a brilliant academic career at Calcutta University, India from which he received MS in Biochemitry in 1959. After earning a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1964, Dr. Mitra did postdoctoral research in Arthur Kornberg’s laboratory at Stanford Medical School. He then returned to India to join Bose Institute, Calcutta, as an assistant professor in 1966, and became an associate professor in 1971. He came back to the U.S. in 1971 to join the Biology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a senior research investigator and subsequently became leader of the Nucleic Acid Enzymology Group. He also served as an adjunct professor of the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Mitra moved to the newly created Sealy Center for Molecular Science at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, TX in 1992 as professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and later as senior scientist in the Sealy Center for Molecular Medicine. After his retirement from UTMB in 2013, he joined Houston Methodist Research Institute as a full member in Radiation Oncology.

He was elected a fellow of AAAS in 1989 and as a fellow of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science, participating in lecture tours in Japan in 1991, 1999, and 2008. He was awarded Mark Brothers of Indiana Prize in 2009. Dr. Mitra has been continuously funded by NIH since 1982 and has been serving on various NIH and other review panels.

Description of Research

Working in the broad area of genome damage, its repair, and its influence in carcinogenesis and cancer therapy, Dr. Mitra has made several seminal discoveries during his tenure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including the characterization of the E. coli repair protein for the mutagenic DNA base O-6 methylguanine produced by mutagens and anticancer alkylating agents, the naming of the repair protein MGMT, and the cloning of human MGMT. More recently, Dr. Mitra’s group characterized a new family of DNA repair proteins that they named NEILs for oxidative genome damage. The recent research focus of Dr. Mitra’s group is enhancement of chemo/radiation sensitivity of tumor cells using targeted DNA repair inhibitors. After the early studies on MGMT inhibition, his current research aims to identify inhibitors for repair pathways for oxidative/radiation damage.

Areas Of Expertise

Genome damage Repair Cancer mechanisms Cancer therapy
Education & Training

Research Doctorate, Department of Biochemistry University of Wisconsin Madison 6
MS, University of Calcutta
Research Fellowship, Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta
University Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison,WI
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University
Publications

Mitochondrial DNA damage-repair defects in mutant FUS-linked motor neuron diseases and its mitigation via targeted expression of DNA Ligase I
Wang, H, Kodavati, M, Guo, W, Mitra, J, Zhang, A, Mitra, S, Tomkinson, AE, Hamilton, DJ, Van Den Bosch, L & Hegde, M 2022, , 7th US-EU Conference on Endogenous DNA Damage and Repair, Newyork, United States, 11/6/22 - 11/9/22.

SARS-CoV-2 and the central nervous system: Emerging insights into hemorrhage-associated neurological consequences and therapeutic considerations
Mitra, J, Kodavati, M, Provasek, VE, Rao, KS, Mitra, S, Hamilton, DJ, Horner, PJ, Vahidy, FS, Britz, GW, Kent, TA & Hegde, ML 2022, , Ageing Research Reviews, vol. 80, 101687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2022.101687

Transcription coupled base excision repair in mammalian cells: So little is known and so much to uncover
Chakraborty, A, Tapryal, N, Islam, A, Mitra, S & Hazra, T 2021, , DNA Repair, vol. 107, 103204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dnarep.2021.103204

Combinatorial effect of plk1 inhibition with temozolomide and radiation in glioblastoma
Pandey, A, Tripathi, SC, Mai, J, Hanash, SM, Shen, H, Mitra, S & Rostomily, RC 2021, , Cancers, vol. 13, no. 20, 5114. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13205114

Heritable pattern of oxidized DNA base repair coincides with pre-targeting of repair complexes to open chromatin
Bacolla, A, Sengupta, S, Ye, Z, Yang, C, Mitra, J, De-Paula, RB, Hegde, ML, Ahmed, Z, Mort, M, Cooper, DN, Mitra, S & Tainer, JA 2021, , Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 221-243. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa1120

Heritable pattern of oxidized DNA base repair coincides with pre-targeting of repair complexes to open chromatin
Bacolla, A, Sengupta, S, Ye, Z, Yang, C, Mitra, J, De-Paula, RB, Hegde, ML, Ahmed, Z, Mort, M, Cooper, DN, Mitra, S & Tainer, JA 2021, , Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 221-243. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa1120

Emerging Roles of Non-canonical RNA Binding Proteins in the Repair of Genome Damage Linked to Human Pathologies
Mitra, J, Wang, H, Kodavati, M, Mitra, S & Hegde, ML 2020, . in DNA Damage, DNA Repair and Disease: Volume 1. vol. 1, The Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom, pp. 301-322. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839160769-00301

Heritable pattern of oxidized DNA base repair coincides with pre-targeting of repair complexes to open chromatin.
Hegde, M, Mitra, S, Sengupta, S, Bacolla, A, Ye, Z, Yang, C, Mitra, J, Tainer, JA & Ahmed, Z 2020, , Nucleic Acids Research.

Ligand-induced gene activation is associated with oxidative genome damage whose repair is required for transcription
Sengupta, S, Wang, H, Yang, C, Szczesny, B, Hegde, ML & Mitra, S 2020, , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 117, no. 36, pp. 22183-22192. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919445117

Gold Nanoparticles Radio-Sensitize and Reduce Cell Survival in Lewis Lung Carcinoma
Pandey, A, Vighetto, V, Marzio, ND, Ferraro, F, Hirsch, M, Ferrante, N, Mitra, S, Grattoni, A & Filgueira, CS 2020, , Nanomaterials, vol. 10, no. 9, 1717. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10091717, https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10091717

Fine-tuning of DNA base excision/strand break repair via acetylation
Bhakat, KK, Sengupta, S & Mitra, S 2020, , DNA Repair, vol. 93, 102931, pp. 102931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dnarep.2020.102931

Gold nanoparticles radio-sensitize and reduce cell survival in lewis lung carcinoma
Pandey, A, Vighetto, V, Marzio, ND, Ferraro, F, Hirsch, M, Ferrante, N, Mitra, S, Grattoni, A & Filgueira, CS 2020, , Nanomaterials, vol. 10, no. 9, 1717, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10091717

XRCC1 promotes replication restart, nascent fork degradation and mutagenic DNA repair in BRCA2-deficient cells
Eckelmann, BJ, Bacolla, A, Wang, H, Ye, Z, Guerrero, EN, Jiang, W, El-Zein, R, Hegde, ML, Tomkinson, AE, Tainer, JA & Mitra, S 2020, , NAR cancer, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. zcaa013. https://doi.org/10.1093/narcan/zcaa013

XRCC1 promotes replication restart, nascent fork degradation and mutagenic DNA repair in BRCA2-deficient cells
Eckelmann, BJ, Bacolla, A, Wang, H, Ye, Z, Guerrero, EN, Jiang, W, El-Zein, R, Hegde, ML, Tomkinson, AE, Tainer, JA & Mitra, S 2020, , NAR Cancer, vol. 2, no. 3, zcaa013. https://doi.org/10.1093/narcan/zcaa013

Pervasive Genomic Damage in Experimental Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Therapeutic Potential of a Mechanistic-Based Carbon Nanoparticle
Dharmalingam, P, Talakatta, G, Mitra, J, Wang, H, Derry, PJ, Nilewski, LG, McHugh, EA, Fabian, RH, Mendoza, K, Vasquez, V, Hegde, PM, Kakadiaris, E, Roy, T, Boldogh, I, Hegde, VL, Mitra, S, Tour, JM, Kent, TA & Hegde, M 2020, , ACS Nano, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 2827-2846. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.9b05821

Emerging Roles of Non-Canonical RNA Binding Proteins in Repair of Genome Damage Linked to Human Pathologies
Hegde, M, Mitra, J, Wang, H, Kodavati, M & Mitra, S 2020, . in Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) Book on DNA Damage, Repair and Disease, edited by M. Didzagaralu and Lloyd S. 2020.

Pervasive Genomic Damage in Experimental Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Therapeutic Potential of a Mechanistic-Based Carbon Nanoparticle
Dharmalingam, P, Talakatta, G, Mitra, J, Wang, H, Derry, PJ, Nilewski, LG, McHugh, E, Fabian, RH, Mendoza, K, Vasquez, V, Hegde, PM, Kakadiaris, E, Roy, T, Boldogh, I, Hegde, VL, Mitra, S, Tour, JM, Kent, TA & Hegde, M 2020, , ACS Nano.

Motor neuron disease-associated loss of nuclear TDP-43 is linked to DNA double-strand break repair defects
Mitra, J, Guerrero, EN, Hegde, PM, Liachko, NF, Wang, H, Vasquez, V, Gao, J, Pandey, A, Paul Taylor, J, Kraemer, BC, Wu, P, Boldogh, I, Garruto, RM, Mitra, S, Rao, KS & Hegde, M 2019, , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 10, pp. 4696-4705. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818415116

Mutant FUS causes DNA ligation defects to inhibit oxidative damage repair in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Wang, H, Guo, W, Mitra, J, Hegde, PM, Vandoorne, T, Eckelmann, BJ, Mitra, S, Tomkinson, AE, Van Den Bosch, L & Hegde, ML 2018, , Nature Communications, vol. 9, no. 1, 3683. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06111-6

Differentially localized survivin and STAT3 as markers of gastric cancer progression: Association with Helicobacter pylori
Pandey, A, Tripathi, SC, Shukla, S, Mahata, S, Vishnoi, K, Misra, SP, Misra, V, Mitra, S, Dwivedi, M & Bharti, AC 2018, , Cancer Reports, vol. 1, no. 1, e1004. https://doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.1004