Sushree Sahoo, Ph.D.
"Blood cells constantly adapt to genetic and environmental stress through clonal evolution. In some cases, this process restores healthy blood formation, but in others, it creates vulnerability to cancer. My goal is to understand what determines these very different outcomes."
Deciphering adaptive and maladaptive clonal evolution in hematopoietic malignancies
How do blood cells adapt to stress, and when does that adaptation become cancer?
Blood is uniquely accessible, making it a powerful window into how cells adapt to genetic and environmental changes over time. Somatic mutations accumulate across tissues with age, and while most mutations in hematopoiesis are neutral, some confer a fitness advantage in the context of inherited genetic constraints and acquired pressures such as inflammation, immune activation, or therapy. The expansion of these “fittest” clones, known as clonal hematopoiesis, is often associated with increased cancer risk and early mortality. Emerging evidence, including Dr. Sahoo's own findings, shows that clonal hematopoiesis is not uniformly harmful and can, in some settings, function as a compensatory mechanism that restores blood formation.
Why certain clones are beneficial while others become malignant remains an open question, and the molecular determinants governing clonal fitness and evolution are still poorly defined. Dr. Sahoo's research program focuses on addressing these clinically relevant questions by integrating patient-specific genomic analyses with functional studies in human iPSC and mouse models. By defining how genetic and environmental stressors influence clonal trajectories, the Sahoo Lab aims to improve early risk stratification, disease monitoring, and enable preemptive intervention.
sushreesahoo@vt.edu
Children's National Research and Innovation Campus
- Assistant Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Camargo R*, Sahoo SS*, Córdoba JC, Magalhães IQ. Germline GATA1 exon 2 mutation associated with chronic cytopenia and a non-down syndrome transient abnormal myelopoiesis with clonal trisomy 21. Leukemia. 2022 Sep 36(9):2347-2350. PMID: 35941211
Sharma R*, Sahoo SS*, Honda M, Granger SL, Goodings C, Sanchez L, Künstner A, Busch H, Beier F, Pruett-Miller SM, Valentine MB, Fernandez AG, Chang TC, Géli V, Churikov D, Hirschi S, Pastor VB, Boerries M, Lauten M, Kelaidi C, Cooper MA, Nicholas S, Rosenfeld JA, Polychronopoulou S, Kannengiesser C, Saintomé C, Niemeyer CM, Revy P, Wold MS, Spies M, Erlacher M, Coulon S, Wlodarski MW. Gain-of-function mutations in RPA1 cause a syndrome with short telomeres and somatic genetic rescue. Blood. 2022 Feb 17;139(7):1039- 1051. PMID: 34767620
Sahoo SS, Pastor VB, Goodings C, Voss RK, Kozyra EJ, Szvetnik A, Noellke P, Dworzak M, Starý J, Locatelli F, Masetti R, Schmugge M, De Moerloose B, Catala A, Kállay K, Turkiewicz D, Hasle H, Buechner J, Jahnukainen K, Ussowicz M, Polychronopoulou S, Smith OP, Fabri O, Barzilai S, de Haas V, Baumann I, Schwarz-Furlan S, Niewisch MR, Sauer MG, Burkhardt B, Lang P, Bader P, Beier R, Müller I, Albert MH, Meisel R, Schulz A, Cario G, Panda PK, Wehrle J, Hirabayashi S, Derecka M, Durruthy R, Göhring G, Yoshimi-Noellke A, Ku M, Lebrecht D, Erlacher M, Flotho C, Strahm B, Niemeyer CM, Wlodarski MW. Clinical evolution, genetic landscape and trajectories of clonal hematopoiesis in SAMD9/SAMD9L syndromes. Nature Medicine. 2021 Oct 27(10):1806-1817. PMID: 34621053
Pastor VB*, Sahoo SS*, Boklan J, Schwabe GC, Saribeyoglu E, Strahm B, Lebrecht D, Voss M, Bryceson YT, Erlacher M, Ehninger G, Niewisch M, Schlegelberger B, Baumann I, Achermann JC, Shimamura A, Hochrein J, Tedgård U, Nilsson L, Hasle H, Boerries M, Busch H, Niemeyer CM, Wlodarski MW. Constitutional SAMD9L mutations cause familial myelodysplastic syndrome and transient monosomy 7. Haematologica. 2018 March 103(3):427-437. PMID: 29217778
*denotes co-first authorship
Postdoctoral Fellow, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Researcher, School of Biotechnology, KIIT University
- Ph.D., University of Freiburg, Germany
- M.S., Biotechnology, KIIT University, India
- B.S., Biotechnology, KIIT University, India
- European Hematology Association-American Society of Hematology Translational Hematology Research Training Award (2024)
- NIDDK K99/R00 Award (2023)
- Tito Bastianello MDS Young Investigator Award (2023)
- Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology (2022)
- Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology (2018)
- Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology (2016)
- Ph.D. Fellowship, Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine (2014-2017)
- Outstanding Student Award, School of Biotechnology, KIIT University (2013)