CCRI welcomes pancreatic cancer researcher Dr. Nirakar Rajbhandari

Dr. Nirakar Rajbhandari joined the University of Mississippi Medical Center this month as an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. He is contributing his research expertise to the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute as CCRI continues progress toward National Cancer Institute designation. 

Rajbhandari comes to UMMC from the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, where he served as an assistant project scientist in the Department of Surgery. With more than 20 years of experience in biochemistry, molecular biology and cancer biology, he brings a deep and highly specialized research portfolio focused on pancreatic cancer modeling, tumor vulnerabilities and the mechanisms that drive aggressive disease subtypes, including adenosquamous carcinoma. 

His work has been published in leading journals such as Cancer Cell, Cancer Research, Nature Communications, Cell Reports and eLife. Rajbhandari is widely recognized for his expertise in genetically engineered mouse models, functional genomics, spatial transcriptomics and organoid systems, and for identifying novel molecular drivers of pancreatic cancer progression, including HMMR and MICAL2. 

A graduate of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he earned his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology, he recently received a prestigious National Cancer Institute K22 Career Development Award. This award will support his transition to independence and accelerate his work on extracellular matrix receptors and their role in pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis. 

Beyond his scientific achievements, Rajbhandari has been an engaged mentor and leader, serving as co‑vice chair and interim chair of the UC San Diego Postdoctoral Association and contributing to scientific outreach and peer review.