Dr. Piyali Dasgupta is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University. Originally from India, Dr. Dasgupta came to the United States to pursue her postdoctoral studies at Columbia University, New York and the Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida. Research in Dr. Dasgupta’s laboratory examines the anti-cancer activity of capsaicin (the spicy ingredient of chili peppers) in human small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Data from her laboratory show that capsaicin robustly suppresses the growth and metastasis of human SCLC. In addition, she observed that capsaicin sensitized human SCLC cells to the apoptotic activity of camptothecin. Current research in her laboratory involves studying the anti-tumor activity of non-pungent capsaicin-like compounds (isolated from other varieties of chili peppers). Dr. Dasgupta was the only junior scientist nationwide to be selected for the prestigious ASPET-Astellas award in translational pharmacology in 2009. Marshall University has honored her with several awards like the Marshall University Distinguished Artists and Scholars Award (2009), John and Francis Rucker Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award (2012) and the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Basic Research (2013). Her research has been funded by multiple funding agencies like National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (PhRMA) and Flight Attendant Medical Association (FAMRI).
INVOLVEMENT IN ASIP
Dr. Piyali Dasgupta is the co-chair of the Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis (TMM) scientific interest group (SIG) of the American Society of Investigative Pathology (ASIP). She contributes to the ASIP newsletter and the TMM social media website. She is enthusiastic about mentoring undergraduates and women scientists in biomedical sciences.
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