Kumar Pichumani

Kumar Pichumani, PhD

Associate Research Professor of Neurosurgery, Academic Institute
Associate Research Member, Research Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Baskin Lab


kpichumani@houstonmethodist.org
Biography

Kumar Pichumani, PhD, is a research scientist at the Neurosurgery Research Laboratory and Associate Research Member at Houston Methodist Research Institute. Dr. Pichumani is an NMR physicist and has worked in NMR spectroscopy since 1990. He developed new methods using first principles of NMR spin relaxation to increase both resolution and sensitivity so that complex biomacromolecules of larger molecular mass can be studied by NMR Spectroscopy. These research publications were cited by two Nobel Laureates in NMR spectroscopy.

Description of Research

Dr. Pichumani's most recent research involves investigating in-vivo cancer metabolism using non- radioactive 13C enriched nutrients as infusion substrates (glucose, acetate, fatty acids), studying the fate of these substrates via high-resolution 13C NMR spectroscopy of surgically resected tumor tissues extracts. In a recent article published in CELL, he demonstrated that acetate acts as an alternate energy source for cancer cells in human glioblastoma patients and mouse models. He studied in India, Sweden and the US, gaining a diverse background spanning physics, mathematics, electronics, physical chemistry, NMR, Cancer Metabolism and biophysics.

Areas Of Expertise

Molecular imaging Cancer metabolism NMR spectroscopy
Education & Training

PhD, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Indiana University Bloomington
BSc, Madurai Kamaraj University
MSc, Madurai Kamaraj University
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stockholm University
Publications

Oscillation patterns for oncomagnetic treatment
Helekar, S, Baskin, DS, Sharpe, MA & Pichumani, K Apr. 13 2023, , Patent No. WO2023060149A1.

Method and apparatus for oncomagnetic treatment
Helekar, S, Baskin, DS, Sharpe, MA & Pichumani, K Feb. 09 2023, , Patent No. 20230043685.

Method and apparatus for oncomagnetic treatment
Helekar, S, Baskin, DS, Sharpe, MA & Pichumani, K Feb. 07 2023, , Patent No. US11571585B2.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ONCOMAGNETIC TREATMENT
Helekar, SA, Baskin, DS, Sharpe, MA & Pichumani, K Jun. 23 2022, , Patent No. US2022193436.

Glutamine anaplerosis is required for amino acid biosynthesis in human meningiomas
Ijare, OB, Hambarde, S, Brasil Da Costa, FH, Lopez, S, Sharpe, MA, Helekar, SA, Hangel, G, Bogner, W, Widhalm, G, Bachoo, RM, Baskin, DS & Pichumani, K 2022, , Neuro-oncology, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 556-568. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noab219

Single-cell analysis of human glioma and immune cells identifies S100A4 as an immunotherapy target
Abdelfattah, N, Kumar, P, Wang, C, Leu, JS, Flynn, WF, Gao, R, Baskin, DS, Pichumani, K, Ijare, OB, Wood, SL, Powell, SZ, Haviland, DL, Parker Kerrigan, BC, Lang, FF, Prabhu, SS, Huntoon, KM, Jiang, W, Kim, BYS, George, J & Yun, K 2022, , Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 767, pp. 767. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28372-y, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28372-y

Single-cell analysis of human glioma and immune cells identifies S100A4 as an immunotherapy target
Abdelfattah, N, Kumar, P, Wang, C, Leu, JS, Flynn, WF, Gao, R, Baskin, DS, Pichumani, K, Ijare, OB, Wood, SL, Powell, SZ, Haviland, DL, Parker Kerrigan, BC, Lang, FF, Prabhu, SS, Huntoon, KM, Jiang, W, Kim, BYS, George, J & Yun, K 2022, , Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 767. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28372-y

Rotating Magnetic Fields Inhibit Mitochondrial Respiration, Promote Oxidative Stress and Produce Loss of Mitochondrial Integrity in Cancer Cells
Sharpe, MA, Baskin, DS, Pichumani, K, Ijare, OB & Helekar, SA 2021, , Frontiers in Oncology, vol. 11, 768758. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.768758

Rotating Magnetic Fields Inhibit Mitochondrial Respiration, Promote Oxidative Stress and Produce Loss of Mitochondrial Integrity in Cancer Cells
Sharpe, MA, Baskin, DS, Pichumani, K, Ijare, OB & Helekar, SA 2021, , Frontiers in Oncology, vol. 11, 768758. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.768758

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ONCOMAGNETIC TREATMENT
Helekar, SA, Baskin, DS, Sharpe, MA & Pichumani, K Sep. 22 2021, , Patent No. EP3880299.

Glutamine anaplerosis is required for amino acid biosynthesis in human meningiomas
Ijare, OB, Hambarde, S, Brasil Da Costa, FH, Lopez, S, Sharpe, MA, Helekar, SA, Hangel, G, Bogner, W, Widhalm, G, Bachoo, RM, Baskin, DS & Pichumani, K 2021, , Neuro-oncology, vol. 24, no. 4, https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noab219, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noab219

The leloir cycle in glioblastoma: Galactose scavenging and metabolic remodeling
Sharpe, MA, Ijare, OB, Baskin, DS, Baskin, AM, Baskin, BN & Pichumani, K 2021, , Cancers, vol. 13, no. 8, 1815. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13081815

Selective induction of rapid cytotoxic effect in glioblastoma cells by oscillating magnetic fields
Helekar, SA, Hambarde, S, Ijare, OB, Pichumani, K, Baskin, DS & Sharpe, MA 2021, , Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, vol. 147, no. 12, pp. 3577-3589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-021-03787-0

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy characterization of Rathke’s cleft cysts (RCCs): Relevance to the differential diagnosis of pituitary adenomas and RCCs
Ijare, OB, Sharpe, MA, Baskin, DS & Pichumani, K 2020, , Cancers, vol. 12, no. 2, 360. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12020360

Elevated levels of circulating betahydroxybutyrate in pituitary tumor patients may differentiate prolactinomas from other immunohistochemical subtypes
Ijare, OB, Holan, C, Hebert, J, Sharpe, MA, Baskin, DS & Pichumani, K 2020, , Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 1334, pp. 1334. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58244-8

Metabolic fate of glucose in atypical meningioma studied by 13C NMR isotopomer analysis
Pichumani, K, Ijare, OB & Baskin, DS 2019, . in Metabolic fate of glucose in atypical meningioma studied by 13C NMR isotopomer. Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 27 (2019) 2507 edn, vol. 27, Internatioal Society for magnetic resonance in medicine, pp. 2507. <https://index.mirasmart.com/ISMRM2019/PDFfiles/2507.html>

Ex Vivo 1 H NMR study of pituitary adenomas to differentiate various immunohistochemical subtypes
Ijare, OB, Baskin, DS & Pichumani, K 2019, , Scientific Reports, vol. 9, no. 1, 3007. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38542-6

Tracking Metabolic Rewiring of Cancer Metabolism in Humans Using Isotope-Resolved NMR
Pichumani, K 2019, . in Methods in Molecular Biology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 2037, Humana Press, pp. 169-186. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9690-2_10

Brain metabolism modulates neuronal excitability in a mouse model of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency
Jakkamsetti, V, Marin-Valencia, I, Ma, Q, Good, LB, Terrill, T, Rajasekaran, K, Pichumani, K, Khemtong, C, Hooshyar, MA, Sundarrajan, C, Patel, MS, Bachoo, RM, Malloy, CR & Pascual, JM 2019, , Science translational medicine, vol. 11, no. 480, aan0457. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aan0457

Isotope Tracing of Human Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinomas Demonstrates Suppressed Glucose Oxidation In Vivo
Courtney, KD, Bezwada, D, Mashimo, T, Pichumani, K, Vemireddy, V, Funk, AM, Wimberly, J, McNeil, SS, Kapur, P, Lotan, Y, Margulis, V, Cadeddu, JA, Pedrosa, I, DeBerardinis, RJ, Malloy, CR, Bachoo, RM & Maher, EA 2018, , Cell Metabolism, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 793-800.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2018.07.020

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