Subrahmanya Vallabhapurapu, PhD

  • Research Assistant Professor

Subrahmanya Vallabhapurapu, MD, PhD, joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery in September of 2024. His redsearch is focused on the understanding of the biological complexity and delineating how misregulation of biological phenomena leads to disease states like cancer and autoimmunity. 

During Dr. Vallabhapurapu obtained his PhD in immunology from University of Wuerzburg, Germany, where he focused on transcriptional regulation of immune cell development. Later, his research focused in the fields of cancer biology, stem cells, epigenetic regulation of stem cells, signal transduction and cell death.

Specialized Areas of Interest

Brain tumor biology; cancer evolution; treatment resistance mechanisms in cancer; communicative mechanisms between tumor cells, stromal cells and immune cells that regulate tumor initiation and progression of tumors; therapeutic strategies to treat cancer

Professional Activities

Scientific reviewer for Cell Death and Disease; Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry; Medicine; Cell Biology International; and Breast Cancer: Basic and Clinical Research.

Education & Training

  • PhD, Immunology, University of Wuerzburg, Germany, 2005
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wuezburg, Germany, 2007
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Basel, Switzerland, 2008
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2010
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cincinnati, 2015.

Research Activities

Chemoresistance mechanisms in brain tumors. Identification of cell intrinsic and extrinsic signals in the initiation and maintenance of chemo/treatmentresistance. Identification of brain tumor cellular pools involved in chemo/treatment resistance, to target and reverse chemo/treatment resistance.