Mayo Clinic biologist is at the cutting edge of cancer research

ROCHESTER, Minn.—Not all heroes wear capes, but they often wear lab coats.

Dr. Yogesh Suryawanshi could be on the path toward a cure for cancer. After receiving his doctorate in biological sciences from WMU in 2017, he secured a job in the department of molecular medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, developing viruses that can attack cancer cells.

"The core problem with cancer is why it starts: the immune system fails to detect and kill cells that become cancerous," says Suryawanshi. "You can genetically modify viruses to exploit the vulnerabilities in cancer cells to not only selectively kill them but also activate the anti-cancer immunity."

Suryawanshi grew up in Latur, India and was working as a surgeon in Mumbai when he developed an interest in cancer research. He says he saw a lot of cancer patients in his surgeries and began thinking about the urgent need for alternatives to conventional treatment options.

"Chemotherapy and radiology are tricky, especially in kids and older patients, because of toxicity," says Suryawanshi. "I knew there was a need for more treatment options which can be equally good on their own or can be combined with conventional treatments to make them more effective."

Suryawanshi researched experts in the virology field as he started applying to universities to further his career. Western Michigan University professor Dr. Karim Essani, an eminent virologist and professor of biological sciences at WMU, stood out.

"I found Dr. Essani's work impressive. At the time he was in the initial phase of tumor virology work and wanted to shift the focus to using viruses for cancer therapy, which aligned with my research interests."

His work at WMU helped set Suryawanshi up for success when it came time to apply for jobs.

"It gave me the platform to actually catapult myself to places like Mayo which are really high-end places," Suryawanshi says.

"What I learned at WMU helped me stay up to date with cutting-edge cancer research and match with one of the top minds in the field."

Now, Suryawanshi spends his days in a lab doing work that could potentially save lives.

"Right now, our lab has several ongoing preclinical and clinical trials going on, and we do see some pretty encouraging results."