Tanaya Purohit

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Tanaya Purohit

Ph.D. Candidate in Cancer Biology
The University of Wisconsin–Madison
[email protected]

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Cancer Biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison advised by Dr. David Jarrard. I study epigenetic dysregulation in prostate cancer progression and therapy resistance. I have been serving on the leadership team of the UWCCC Cancer Trainee Network since 2022. Before starting my Ph.D. I worked as a Research Technician in Dr. Timothy Chan’s lab at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. I have a M.S. in Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship from New York University, and a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Savitribai Phule Pune University in India.

Education

University of Wisconsin–Madison
Ph.D. Cancer Biology
 Madison, WI
2020 – Present
New York University
M.S. Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship 		New York City, NY
2016 - 2018
Bharti Vidyapeeth Deemed University
Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics 		Pune, India
2015 – 2016
Savitribai Phule Pune University
B.Sc. Biotechnology 		Pune, India
2012 – 2015

Publications and Manuscripts

In preparation

  • Purohit, T. A., Gawdzik, J., Yang, B., …, Jarrard, D.F.
    Loss of CHD1 generates a distinct histone profile in the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. (in preparation)
  • Purohit, T. A. and Jarrard, D.F.
    Dysregulation of histone-modifying enzymes in the development and progression of castration-resistant prostate cancer. (in preparation)
  • Purohit, T. A., Schmitt, E., Bigarella, M., Yang, B., …, Jarrard, D.F.
    Identifying and targeting histone-modifying enzymes in prostate cancer cell survival after androgen deprivation therapy. (in preparation)

Peer-reviewed

  • Filon, M., Yang, B., Purohit, T.A., …, Jarrard, D.F., (2023).
    Development of a multiplex assay to assess activated p300/CBP in circulating prostate tumor cells.
    Oncotarget, 14, 38.
  • Nixon, B.G., Kuo, F., Ji, L., Liu, M., Capistrano, K., Do, M., Franklin, R.A., Wu, X., Kansler, E.R., Srivastava, R.M., Purohit, T.A., …, Li, M.O., (2022).
    Tumor-associated macrophages expressing the transcription factor IRF8 promote T cell exhaustion in cancer.
    Immunity, 55(11), 2044-2058.
  • Krishna, C., DiNatale, R.G., Kuo, F., Srivastava, R.M., Vuong, L., Chowell, D., Gupta, S., Vanderbilt, C., Purohit, T.A., …, Hakimi, A.A., (2021).
    Single-cell sequencing links multiregional immune landscapes and tissue-resident T cells in ccRCC to tumor topology and therapy efficacy.
    Cancer Cell, 39(5), pp.662-677.
  • Srivastava, R.M., Purohit, T.A. and Chan, T.A., (2020), April.
    Diverse neoantigens and the development of cancer therapies.
    In Seminars in radiation oncology (Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 113-128). WB Saunders.
  • Bessell, C.A., Isser, A., Havel, J.J., Lee, S., Bell, D.R., Hickey, J.W., Chaisawangwong, W., Bieler, J.G., Srivastava, R., Kuo, F., Purohit, T., …, Schneck, J.P., (2020).
    Commensal bacteria stimulate antitumor responses via T cell cross-reactivity.
    JCI insight, 5(8).
  • Samstein, R.M., Krishna, C., Ma, X., Pei, X., Lee, K.W., Makarov, V., Kuo, F., Chung, J., Srivastava, R.M., Purohit, T.A., …, Nadeem, R., (2020).
    Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 differentially affect the tumor microenvironment and response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy.
    Nature Cancer, 1(12), pp.1188-1203.

Published Abstracts

  • Abstract: Purohit, T., …, Jarrard, D., (2024). PD35-07: Identifying and targeting upregulated histone modifying enzymes involved in prostate cancer cell survival after androgen deprivation therapy. The Journal of Urology, 211(5S), e727.
  • Abstract: Purohit, T. A., …, Jarrard, D. F., (2023). A060: Genetic alterations induce distinct histone post-translational modifications during the transition to castration-resistant prostate cancer. Cancer Research, 83(11 Supplement), A060-A060.
  • Abstract: Esdaille, A., Yang, B., Purohit, T., …, Jarrard, D., (2023). MP20-06: Atorvastatin with degarelix modulates tumor proliferation and the prostate tumor immune environment in a Myc-CaP/AS murine model. The Journal of Urology, 209(Supplement 4), e277.

Oral Presentations

  • CHD1 loss generates a distinct histone post-translational modification pattern with the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Presented at:
    • UW Prostate SPORE Annual Retreat, UW–Madison (May 2025)
    • Postdoc Preview Event, University of Michigan (May 2025)
    • Moffitt Innovators of Tomorrow Symposium, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute (April 2025)
    • UWCCC Cancer Trainee Network Seminar Series, UW–Madison (Feb 2025)
    • McArdle Trainee Seminar Series, UW–Madison (April 2022, Nov 2024)
    • Prostate Research Group Meeting, UW–Madison (June 2022)
  • Identifying and targeting upregulated histone-modifying enzymes involved in prostate cancer cell survival after androgen deprivation therapy. Presented at:
    • McArdle Trainee Seminar Series, UW–Madison (Jan 2024)
    • Prostate Research Group Meeting, UW–Madison (Feb 2024)
  • Improving androgen deprivation therapy: Targeting NSD2 in advanced prostate cancer. Presented at:
    • UW Prostate SPORE Annual Retreat, UW–Madison (May 2024)
    • McArdle Trainee Seminar Series, UW–Madison (Mar 2023)
    • Prostate Research Group Meeting, UW–Madison (Mar 2023)

Poster Presentations

  • Identifying and targeting upregulated histone-modifying enzymes involved in prostate cancer cell survival after androgen deprivation therapy. Poster presented at:
    • Cancer Biology Student Orientation, UW–Madison (Aug 2024)
    • UWCCC Annual Research Retreat, UW–Madison (April 2024)
  • Genetic alterations induce distinct histone post-translational modifications during the transition to castration-resistant prostate cancer. Poster presented at:
    • Interdisciplinary Biological and Health Sciences Consortium, UW–Madison (Feb 2025)
    • Keystone Symposia Conference on Epigenetic Mechanisms and Cancer Treatment, Santa Fe, NM (Feb 2024)
    • AACR Special Conference: Advances in Prostate Cancer Research, Denver, CO (Mar 2023)
    • 30th Annual Meeting of the Society for Basic Urologic Research (Nov 2022)
    • UWCCC Annual Research Retreat, UW–Madison (2022-2023, April 2025)
    • 6th Annual Epigenetics Symposium, UW–Madison (Oct 2022)
    • McArdle Fall Poster Session, UW–Madison (Oct 2022)

Technical Skills

  • Mammalian primary cells, cancer cell lines, 3D organoid culture, dendritic and T-cell culture
  • Cell-based assays: proliferation, cytotoxicity, T-cell activation, cytokine production
  • Multi-panel flow cytometry and cell sorting
  • Molecular biology: Molecular cloning, DNA/RNA extractions, PCR, qPCR
  • Western blotting and immunoprecipitation
  • Functional genomics: RNAi, shRNA, CRISPR/Cas9 KO, gene overexpression
  • 10X Genomics single-cell RNA-seq library prep
  • GMP and GLP compliance
  • Experience working with animal tumor models
  • GraphPad Prism, Microsoft Office, FlowJo, ImageJ

Leadership and Community Involvement

  • Member of the Leadership Team, UWCCC Cancer Trainee Network (2022 - Present)
  • Associate Member, American Association for Cancer Research (2022 - Present)
  • Mentor, UWCCC Advancing Research in Science with Equity (ARISE) high school internship program (Summer 2024)
  • Trainee representative, SMPH/UW Health Diversity Workforce and Equity Transformation committee (Summer 2023)
  • Mentor for WoMentorship Program, NYU Tandon School of Engineering (Fall 2017)