Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani

Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Basic Science Lead of the Melanoma Translational Research Team at the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center. He received a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Tehran and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He completed his postdoctoral training as a Life Sciences Research Foundation (LSRF) fellow in Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, where he also earned a Pathway to Independence Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). At UVA, he leads a systems biology research program aiming to discover the fundamental mechanisms through which human cancer cells respond heterogeneously to environmental and therapeutic perturbations. A detailed understanding of these mechanisms will help us identify novel therapeutic targets to: (i) maximize tumor cell killing, (ii) block aggressive tumor behaviors (such as metastatic outgrowth), and (iii) prevent the emergence of therapy resistance in patients. Dr. Fallahi-Sichani’s research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), Department of Defense, as well as multiple private foundations that sponsor innovative and high-risk, high-reward research projects. His research accomplishments have been recognized by a variety of awards, including the Cell and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Rising Star Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), Research Collaboration Award from the UVA VPR office, and a V Scholar Award from the V Foundation for Cancer Research.