Asaithamby Aroumougame, PhD
Dr. Aroumougame (“Thambi”) earned his Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University, India, and completed postdoctoral training in breast cancer research under Dr. Shyamala Harris (late) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 2004, he joined UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas as an Instructor, progressing to Research Track Assistant Professor and later to Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, earning tenure in 2020. At UT Southwestern, his research focused on the role of DNA repair in cancer development and therapy resistance. He had the privilege of collaborating with esteemed cancer biologists within the UTSW campus, advancing understanding in the field of cancer biology and treatment strategies.
Research Interests
1. His research focuses on understanding how genotoxic cancer therapies such as doxorubicin and radiotherapy contribute to long-term cardiovascular complications. These treatments generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage, yet the molecular mechanisms linking this damage to cardiac dysfunction remain poorly defined. He aims to elucidate how ROS signaling, DNA repair pathways, and cardiac remodeling processes drive therapy-induced hypertrophy and dysfunction. Ultimately, he seeks to uncover the role of the DNA damage response (DDR) in cardiotoxicity, with the goal of developing strategies to protect the heart in cancer survivors.
2. In parallel, he is investigating the role of DNA repair defects in premature cardiac aging. Aging-related stressors, such as oxidative DNA damage and elevated ROS, promote cellular senescence and impair heart function. His studies focus on WRN, a DNA helicase essential for repairing oxidative DNA damage. Mutations in WRN cause Werner syndrome, a progeroid disorder marked by premature aging and early-onset cardiovascular disease. WRN deficiency leads to persistent DNA damage and chronic DDR activation, accelerating cardiomyocyte senescence. He aims to define how WRN contributes to cardiac aging through both DNA repair and mitochondrial regulation.
3. He also explores the non-canonical roles of DNA repair proteins in immune signaling, particularly the cGAS-STING pathway. He investigates how factors from the non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination pathways influence immune activation in response to DNA damage. His goal is to harness these mechanisms to improve cancer immunotherapy and reduce normal tissue toxicity, including effects on the heart.