Rajneesh Pathania, BVSc & AH(Equivalent to DVM), ECFVG, MVSc, PhD, DACLAM
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Rajneesh Pathania
Dr. Rajneesh Pathania, DVM, MS, PhD, DACLAM, is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Veterinarian in the Department of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He holds a PhD in Cancer Cell Biology from the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, where he focused on the epigenetics of cancer stem cells. His early fascination with cancer biology, particularly the role of tumor stem cells in cancer progression and metastasis, set the foundation for a career dedicated to advancing cancer research.
Dr. Pathania further honed his expertise during a research fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH), where his work on breast cancer stem cells. Dr. Pathania published in high-impact journals such as Nature Communications, Cancer Research, and Molecular and Cellular Biology. His research has contributed significantly to the understanding of cancer stem cell biology and its implications for metastasis and therapeutic resistance.
At MD Anderson, Dr. Pathania’s work primarily revolves around developing and refining mouse models for cancer research, including those for pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, and prostate cancer. In addition to his research, he provides advanced surgical training and supports collaborations aimed at optimizing animal models for cancer studies. He also serves as a veterinary reviewer for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and a member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), ensuring ethical practices in animal research.
With a dual focus on animal welfare and cancer research, Dr. Pathania’s work bridges clinical veterinary medicine and translational cancer studies, contributing to both the humane treatment of research animals and the advancement of cancer therapies.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor and Clinical Veterinarian, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2015 | Medical college of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, US, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, PhD |
| 2008 | Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, IN, Pharmacology and Toxicology, MVSc |
| 2006 | College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur, IN, Veterinary Medicine, BVSc & AH |
Postgraduate Training
| 2015-2019 | Research Fellowship, Cancer Cell Biology and Metastasis, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH), Durham, North Carolina |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2023 | Diplomate American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DACLAM) |
| 2022 | Texas veterinary License |
| 2019 | USDA National Veterinary Accreditation Program |
| 2019 | Drug Enforcement Administration |
| 2017 | North Carolina Veterinary Practice License |
| 2016 | Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate Faculty, Graduate School of Biomedical Science (GSBS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2024 - 2029
Other Professional Positions
Special volunteer status, Cancer Biology, NIEHS/NIH, Durham, NC, 2019 - Present
Graduate Research Assistant, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, 2009 - 2015
Junior Research Fellow, Pharmacology and toxicology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, 2006 - 2008
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Chairman, DVMS Enrichment Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - Present
Member, Academic Review Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - 2028
Alternate member, IACUC, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - Present
Voting member, Institutional Biosafety Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, DISCOVER Program Steering Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Veterinary reviewer, IACUC, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - Present
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, AALAS Foundation AVMA Fly-In grant committee, The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 2026 - Present
Member, ASLAP Development Committee, The Association of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP), 2025 - Present
Member, Animal Welfare Committee, The TVMA (Texas Veterinary Medical Association), 2024 - Present
Member, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - Present
Editorial Activities
Review Editor, Editor RNA Frontier Journal, 2017 - Present
Editor, MAYFEB Journal of Science, 2016 - 2017
Honors & Awards
| 2023 | Diplomate, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM) |
| 2017 | Science Day Awards, NIEHS/NIH |
| 2017 | Fellow Award for Research Excellence, National Institute of Health |
| 2013 | The Dean's Diary, Augusta University |
| 2012 | R. August Roesel Memorial Award, Augusta University |
| 2012 | Oral presentation award, International Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer, New Delhi, India |
| 2010 | University Merit certificate, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University |
| 2008 - 2009 | Junior Research Fellowship, ICAR (Indian council of agricultural research) |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2025. Understanding Geckos in Laboratory Animal Care. IACUC Continue education. Houston, Tx, US.
- 2025. Pain in Zebrafish: The Ethical and Regulatory Imperatives. IACUC Continue Education. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. Humane Euthanasia in Laboratory Animals. Town Hall meeting. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Common Ocular Issues In Laboratory Mice And Their Managements. NC&SC staff meeting. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Identification and Characterizations of Metastasis-initiating Cells in the triple negative breast cancer. Poster. BSC Review/NIEHS. Durham, North Carolina, US.
Regional Presentations
- 2026. Decoding Early Tumor Spread Through Multimodal Single Cell Analysis. Invited. Department Seminar. Augusta, Georgia, US.
- 2025. Animal Models of Cancer Research and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs). Invited. TC3R and ORI Joint webinar. School of Veterinary medicine (TC3R). In person for the ORI staff and Virtual for the TC3R. Lubbock, Texas, US.
- 2025. Enviropak as a Tool for Early-Stage Diarrhea Surveillance in Immunocompromised Mice. Poster. Texas Branch of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, Galveston, TEXAS.
National Presentations
- 2026. Animal Models of Cancer Research and Their Refinements. Invited. American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW) Short Course. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2026. New Horizon on Alternatives to Animal Testing. Invited. ACLAM Forum, Stevenson, WA. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2026. Advancements in animal models of cancer research and their relevance to the 3Rs. Invited. American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) National Meeting. Houston, Texas, US. Houston, Texas.
- 2026. Enrichment Committee- The Architect of the Enrichment Ecosystem. Panelist. American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) National Meeting. Houston, Texas, US. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2015. Functional role of DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1) in regulation of mammary stem/progenitor and cancer stem cells. Poster. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
International Presentations
- 2025. Animal models of cancer research and 3Rs. Invited. LASAICON-2025 Conference: From Preclinical to Clinical: Connecting the Dots of Research, Animal Welfare, Drug Discovery, and Pharma Innovation for Viksit Bharat. Chandigarh, India, US.
- 2012. Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis reveals novel targets for drug development in breast cancer. Invited. 3rd International Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer. New Delhi, IN.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Kotla S, Lee J, Ko KA, Chen W, Samanthapudi VSK, Hoang O, Mejia GF, Li S, Lee H, Zhang A, Cho MS, Schadler KL, Rivera LA, Imanishi M, Tavares Samperio KC, Kim JH, Ostos-Mendoza KC, Mariscal-Reyes KN, Deswal A, Cooke JP, Fujiwara K, Palaskas NL, Koutroumpakis E, Gi YJ, Pathania R, Morrell C, Lorenzi PL, Brookes PS, Wang G, Le NT, Abe JI. LATS1/2-CD38 Metabolic Rewiring Links Senescence to Intraplaque Thrombosis. Circulation Research, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42200276.
- Bridges AE, Ramachandran S, Pathania R, Parwal U, Lester A, Rajpurohit P, Morera DS, Patel N, Singh N, Korkaya H, Manicassamy S, Prasad PD, Lokeshwar VB, Lokeshwar BL, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. RAD51AP1 Deficiency Reduces Tumor Growth by Targeting Stem Cell Self-Renewal. Cancer Res 80(18):3855-3866, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32665355.
- Yang P, Humphrey SJ, Cinghu S, Pathania R, Oldfield AJ, Kumar D, Perera D, Yang JYH, James DE, Mann M, Jothi R. Multi-omic Profiling Reveals Dynamics of the Phased Progression of Pluripotency. Cell Syst 8(5):427-445.e10, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31078527.
- Pathania R, Ramachandran S, Mariappan G, Thakur P, Shi H, Choi JH, Manicassamy S, Kolhe R, Prasad PD, Sharma S, Lokeshwar BL, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. Combined Inhibition of DNMT and HDAC Blocks the Tumorigenicity of Cancer Stem-like Cells and Attenuates Mammary Tumor Growth. Cancer Res 76(11):3224-35, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27197203.
- Sangani R, Periyasamy-Thandavan S, Pathania R, Ahmad S, Kutiyanawalla A, Kolhe R, Bhattacharyya MH, Chutkan N, Hunter M, Hill WD, Hamrick M, Isales C, Fulzele S. The crucial role of vitamin C and its transporter (SVCT2) in bone marrow stromal cell autophagy and apoptosis. Stem Cell Res 15(2):312-21, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26210298.
- Pathania R, Ramachandran S, Elangovan S, Padia R, Yang P, Cinghu S, Veeranan-Karmegam R, Arjunan P, Gnana-Prakasam JP, Sadanand F, Pei L, Chang CS, Choi JH, Shi H, Manicassamy S, Prasad PD, Sharma S, Ganapathy V, Jothi R, Thangaraju M. DNMT1 is essential for mammary and cancer stem cell maintenance and tumorigenesis. Nat Commun 6:6910, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25908435.
- Elangovan S, Pathania R, Ramachandran S, Ananth S, Padia RN, Lan L, Singh N, Martin PM, Hawthorn L, Prasad PD, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. The niacin/butyrate receptor GPR109A suppresses mammary tumorigenesis by inhibiting cell survival. Cancer Res 74(4):1166-78, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24371223.
- Elangovan S, Pathania R, Ramachandran S, Ananth S, Padia RN, Srinivas SR, Babu E, Hawthorn L, Schoenlein PV, Boettger T, Smith SB, Prasad PD, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. Molecular mechanism of SLC5A8 inactivation in breast cancer. Mol Cell Biol 33(19):3920-35, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23918800.
- Pathania R, Sharma SK. Pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin in Escherichia coli lipopoh saccharide-induced febrile buffalo calves. The Indian journal of animal sciences 80(7):601-604, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Sharma SK, Pathania R. Pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin in buffalo calves after single subcutaneous administration. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 80(6):512-515, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Pathania R, Sharma SK. Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of moxifloxacin in buffalo calves. Research in veterinary science 89(1):108-112, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20202656.
Review Articles
- Kaur R, Pathania R. Drug Resistance in Food Animals - A Public Health Concern. Vet scan Vol. 5(No. 1, Article 48), 2010. e-Pub 2010.
Professional Educational Materials
- Moore EJ, Malinowski CM, Pathania R, Swain J. Advances on Rodent Healthcare Algorithm,, 2025.
Abstracts
- Mughees M, Pathania R, Fowlkes N, Sahin AA, Dalby K, Bartholomeusz C. Combination of a novel MELK inhibitor with standard-of-care treatment results in tumor regression and improved survival in a triple-negative inflammatory breast cancer xenograft model. San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 32(4), 2026.
- Olivia Nelson, Venkatasubrahman K Samanthapudi, Luis Rivera, Evelyn L Sullivan, Jun-ichi Abe, Susanne Je-Han Lin, Pathania R, Manu Sebastian, Sivareddy Kotla. TLR9-Mediated Sensing of Radiation-Released mtDNA Activates Endothelial Inflammasome and Fibrotic Signatures. DISCOVER Summer Research Program, 2025.
- Pathania R, Gooden J, Brewer L, Swain J, Lockworth C, Jensen V. Enviropak as a Tool for Early-Stage Diarrhea Surveillance in Immunocompromised Mice. TBAALAS, Galveston, 2025.
- Kotla S, Samanthapudi VSK, Lee J, Ko KA, Hoang O, Mejia GF, Rivera LA, Kay CT, Samperio KCT, Moreno SFL, Assunto S, Sanchez EG, Pathania R, Deswal A, Palaskas NL, Koutroumpakis E, Le NT, Abe JI. The functional role of TOP2β PARylation in myeloid cells senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and atherosclerosis induction following ionizing radiation. Department of Internal Medicine Retreat, 2025.
- Evelyn L. Sullivan, Susanne Je-Han Lin, Rajneesh Pathania, Venkatasubrahman Samanthapudi, Jun-ichi Abe, Sivareddy Kotla. Role of endothelial TLR9 in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced lung fibrosis. ACVP 2024 annual meeting, 2024.
- Kotla S, Lee J, Abigail O, Pathania R, Abe JI. CD38 Activation by Disturbed Flow (d-flow) Promotes Endothelial Cell (EC) Senescence-Associated Stemness (SAS) through Glutaminolysis Enhanced by Pyruvate Dehydrogenase (PDH) Inhibition, Leading to Atherothrombosis. American Heart Association (AHA), 2024.
- Kotla S, Ko K A, Lee J, Abigail O, Chen W, Samanthapudi V, Pathania R, Abe JI. Disturbed Flow (d-flow)-induced Endothelial Senescence-Associated Stemness (SAS): Unveiling the Impact of CD38 and LATS1/2 Depletion on Atherothrombosis Development. American Heart Association Meeting, 2024.
- Sullivan EL, Pathania R, Lin S JH, Samanthapudi V, A JI, Kotla S. Endothelial TLR9 Role in Radiation-Induced Lung Fibrosis. Graduate Student poster, 2024.
- Parwal U, Patel P, Ramachandran S, Pathania R, Thangaraju M. SIRT1 requires for mammary stem cell self-renewal and maintenance. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019, 2019.
- Thangaraju M, RB Kolhe, Pathania R. RAD51AP1 is a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target for breast cancer. San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, 2016.
- Pathania R, Thangaraju M. Functional role of DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1) in regulation of mammary stem/progenitor and cancer stem cells. AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015;, 2015.
- Ramachandran S, Pathania R, Elangovan S, Vadivel g, Thangaraju M. Mammary gland-specific deletion of Sirt1 delays mammary tumor growth and progression. AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, 2015.
- Ramachandran S, Pathania R, Padia RN, Prasad PD, Ganapathy v, Thangaraju M. SLC5A8: A strategic target for advanced metastatic breast cancer. AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA, 2014.
- Ramachandran S, Elangovan S, Pathania R, Thangaraju M. Slc5a8 inactivation is associated with mammary gland involution delay, early onset of mammary tumorigenesis and accelerated lung metastasis. AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL, 2012.
- Pathania R, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. Long lived, mammary stem cells are the target of oncogenic mutations. The Life of a Stem Cell: From Birth to Death, 2012.
- Gnana Prakasam JP, Pathania R, Veeranan-Karmegam R, Thangaraju M, Ganapathy V. Expression and function of HFE in mammary gland iron homeostasis and its relevance to breast cancer. AACR 103rd Annual Meeting, 2012.
- Pathania R, Thangaraju M. Isolation and functional characterization of normal mammary stem and cancer stem cells. Poster presented in Graduate research day, 2011.
- Pathania R, Thangaraju M. Identification of Breast Cancer Stem Cells in Spontaneous Mouse Mammary Tumor. Poster presented in Stem cell, Cancer and metastasis Keystone Symposia, 2011.
- Pathania R, Suresh Sharma. Effect of moxifloxacin on biochemical parameters in febrile buffalo calves. Presented in conference of society of Toxicology India, 2008.
- Pathania R, Suresh S. Moxifloxacin bioavailability by subcutaneous route. IVRI Conference, 2008.
Book Chapters
- Pathania R, Ganapathy V, Thangaraju M. Translating mammary stem cell and cancer stem cell biology to the clinics. In: Stem Cells and Human Diseases, 2012.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026