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Nicholas B. Jennings
Lab Manager

I graduated from the University of Houston after majoring in biochemistry and biophysics and joined the lab in 2004 as a research assistant and have evolved over the years to lead the day-to-day operations of the lab, along with lab compliance/integrity. I have worked on a variety of projects over the years with a focus on nanoparticles/extracellular vesicles as well as chronic stress effects. I am an avid volleyball player and lover of playing sports in general, along with interests in art and music. I have visited six out of the seven continents and love getting away into nature.

Assistant Professor of Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine

I earned my Ph.D. from Seoul National University and completed my postdoctoral training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center. I have an extensive background in cancer biology, with specific training and expertise in cancer metastasis and translational research for novel anti-cancer drug development. My research has focused on 1) development of a unique and innovative approach to cancer therapy using novel inhibitors aimed to target therapy, 2) development and design mouse models for novel anti-cancer drug testing and 3) determining how bidirectional signaling between cancer cells and tumor microenvironment contributes to tumor progression and acquisition of the resistant phenotype.

Assistant Professor

I obtained my Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2004. Subsequently, I completed my postdoctoral training at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, studying tumor metastasis and genomic instability. I joined MD Anderson with a specific interest on working in a translational environment focused on ovarian cancer. My current research in ovarian cancer are centered on the following areas: 1) interfering with tumor-associated vasculature with molecularly based nanomedicine; 2) disrupting tumor-promoting activities of prolactin with antagonist peptides, 3) novel antibody-drug conjugates to target folate receptor alpha mediated cancer metabolism.

Assistant Professor
Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA (RNA Center)

I am a cancer biologist with expertise in molecular and cellular biology, nanomedicine and cancer biology. Over the last several years, I have focused on developing novel nanoparticle systems for systemic delivery of ncRNAs for cancer therapy. I am implementing new strategies of siRNA/miRNA therapeutics for the treatment of ovarian and other types of cancer. I identified novel ligands for anti-angiogenic therapy for ovarian cancer and developed new novel nanovectors to deliver siRNA/miRNA into ovarian tumors. Over the last 13 years, I have made major scientific contributions related to biology as well as regulation of tumor angiogenesis (Cancer Cell, 2010). I have identified a better approach to target cancer-associated endothelial cells, reverse permeability and leakiness of tumor blood vessels (JCI Insight, 2016). By using novel nanovectors like chitosan and DOPC, I targeted stromal specific components and metastatic markers to inhibit ovarian and other tumor metastasis (Cell Metab, 2016; Cancer Cell, 2016; J Clin Invest. 2018). My current research focuses on studying the role of ncRNAs such as miRNA and lncRNA in ovarian tumor growth.

Sara Corvigno
Assistant Professor

In the Sood Laboratory, I work on several projects, some related to the role of cancer-derived EVs and tumor-educated platelets in high-grade serous ovarian cancer initiation and early diagnosis. Additionally, I am involved in several tissue analysis projects in which I study markers and localization-defined immune cells phenotypes in HGS tumor microenvironment.

Elaine Stur, Ph.D.
Research Scientist

I joined MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Sood Laboratory in 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow. In these last few years, I have been working mainly on projects related to tumor microenvironment with focus in mechanisms of immune suppression in ovarian cancer, single-cell heterogeneity of high grade serous ovarian carcinoma and biomarkers of long-term survival.

Current Trainees

Emine Bayraktar
Graduate Research Assistant

I am a Ph.D. student at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. My current research has been focused on the mechanism of the hematogenous metastasis in ovarian cancer, the mechanism of the lymphatic metastasis in ovarian cancer and the mechanism of adaptive resistance to combination therapy with anti-angiogenesis drugs.

Pahul Hanjra
Graduate Research Assistant

I am an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Texas MSTP at Houston, I and joined the Sood Laboratory to complete my dissertation research in July 2021. I currently work on projects related to overcoming adaptive resistance of ovarian cancers to current therapies with a focus on leveraging autophagy cell death as a therapeutic strategy. I am also interested in the connections between chronic stress and tumor biology. Long-term, I plan to take my training here into my future practice as a clinician-scientist. Outside of research, I enjoy quality time with family and friends, music, staying active and exploring new places.

Sujanitha Umamaheswaran
Graduate Research Assistant

I joined the Sood Lab as an M.S. student at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and worked on investigating the role of stress and extracellular vesicles in ovarian cancer. I worked as a research assistant with Yunfei Wen, Ph.D., and studied autophagy, angiogenesis and adaptive resistance to anti-angiogenic therapies. I am currently a Ph.D. student at the graduate school, and I am interested in bispecific antibodies and neuroendocrine stress in ovarian cancer.

Nazende Nur Bayram
Graduate Research Assistant

I have graduated from Erciyes University, Faculty of Pharmacy, as a high honor student in 2016. Currently, I am doing my Ph.D. at Abdullah Gul University (AGU) in the Bioengineering Department. My main project is development of breast cancer targeted pH-sensitive, multifunctional cross-linked micellar carriers. I joined MD Anderson Cancer Center in June 2022 in the Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine as a graduate student under the supervision of Anil Sood, M.D. I am also interested in plant extracellular vesicles and their role in ovarian cancer. My personal hobbies are listening to classical music, cycling and hiking.