Biography
Madhu A. Lal-Nag currently serves as the lead of the Trans-NIH RNAi Facility, which is responsible for developing and conducting genome-wide, physiologically relevant phenotypic assays for Intramural researchers. Lal-Nag joined NCATS’ Division of Pre-Clinical Innovation in 2013, where she worked as a research scientist in biology with Marc Ferrer, Ph.D., primarily to develop an assay platform of three-dimensional (3-D) physiologically relevant, multi-cell-type disease models that are amenable to high-throughput screening. Lal-Nag received a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular oncology from George Washington University, where she worked with Steven R. Patierno, Ph.D., and Susan Ceryak, Ph.D., to uncover mechanisms of oncogenic cell signaling under conditions of genotoxic stress. As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Patrice Morin, Ph.D., Lal-Nag worked on developing conjugated enterotoxins for treating high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma.
Research Topics
Lal-Nag’s core competency lies in being able to bridge the gap between the academic and the translational aspects of cutting edge science, and in using the results of current chemotherapeutic response/regimens to dictate the direction of research for maximum effectiveness in as short a time as possible. Her passion lies in being able to develop scientific methods to creatively translate cutting-edge research to serve patient needs. Lal-Nag has extensive experience in the miniaturization and optimization of physiologically relevant cell-based 2-D and 3-D assays to make them amenable for the screening of high-impact, small molecule and functional genomics libraries with the goal of identifying unique receptor/ligand interaction and efficacy in various disease pathologies, especially as they relate to the epigenetic modulation of cancer and stem cell biology.