Anand Mehta, Ph.D.

I am the SmartState Endowed Chair in Proteomic Biomarkers, Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and the Senior Associate Dean for Research at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). A large part of my laboratory is focused on understanding and developing diagnostic methods and treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a primary cancer of the liver that kills close to 1 million people every year. Our lab was one of the first to perform total serum glycan analysis for biomarker detection and one of the first to perform serum glycoproteomics. Through this we identified over 30 serum glycoproteins with increased levels of fucose in those with HCC. Importantly, many of the marker proteins we have identified are already being used clinically in China for the detection of HCC while others are being used in the USA to detect end stage liver disease in those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Recently, our laboratory identified several major glycan changes that occur directly in inter-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) tissue and also found these same glycans in the serum of patients with iCCA. The biomarker potential of these serum glycan was compared with the current “gold standard” CA19-09, and our glycan panel proved superior. In addition, we have recently developed a method that allows the simultaneous N-linked glycan analysis from antibody captured glycoproteins using imaging mass spectrometry and we hope to translate to clinical and commercial use. Clearly, our laboratory remains on the forefront in the development of tools for the analysis of complex carbohydrates and the discovery and validation of biomarkers of cancer. And importantly, we are skilled in both translating our findings into the clinic through academic and commercial routes.