Dr. Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra
Assistant Professor
Dr. Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra is an Assistant Professor at the School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar. He holds degrees in Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences with a specialization in Cancer Biology, and completed his Ph.D. in Cancer Metabolomics from Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany. He conducted postdoctoral research at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg. His research focuses on cancer immunometabolism and metabolic reprogramming in tumors. Dr. Mohapatra has co-authored influential publications in journals such as Cell and Frontiers in Immunology. He has received multiple funded projects, including grants from ICMR, DST-SERB and IGSTC, aimed at exploring metabolic pathways in cancer and developing novel biomarkers.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
PhD in Natural Sciences from Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany.
COURSE EXPERTISE
Cancer Metabolomics, Synthetic Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Head & Neck Cancers, Metabolomics, Therapeutics and Diagnostics
Administrative Responsibilities
Faculty Coordinator GATE & Peer-Tutoring Programs
Awards and Achievements
IGSTC Paired Early Career Fellowship in Applied Research 2024
Projects & Consultancies
- Targeting downstream of tryptophan catabolism to overcome immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) resistance in oral squamous cell carcinomas, Rs 79,00,153 approved by ICMR for 2025 to 2028.
- Elucidating the intricate biology of the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) activation and crosstalk in cancer, Rs 32,18,789 approved by DST-SERB for 2022 to 2024.
Patents and Innovations
- AHR signature marker set. Mohapatra SR, Opitz CA, Somarribas-Patterson LF, Sadik A, Trump S, Schäuble S, Faessler E. 2020
- Interleukin-4-induced gene 1 (IL4I1) as a biomarker and uses thereof. Mohapatra SR, Opitz CA, Somarribas-Patterson LF, Sadik A, Trump S, Prentzell MT, Secker PF. 2020.