Investigators

Summary

Dr. Singhi's current research focus is primarily translational in the area of gastrointestinal, pancreatic, hepatobiliary and peritoneal pathology, and can be summarized in the following areas:

(1) Clinical diagnostic test development. In conjunction with other members of pathology, gastroenterology, surgical oncology and radiology, Dr. Singhi has been involved in the development of multiple clinical diagnostic tests for the evaluation of pancreatic cysts, biliary strictures, neuroendocrine tumors, and early detection of neoplasms involving the hepatopancreatobiliary tract. His research is supported by grants from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), National Pancreas Foundation (NPF), the University of Pittsburgh and the Institute for Precision Medicine (IPM) at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information regarding such tests as PancreaSeq (pancreatic cysts), BiliSeq (biliary strictures) and PanNeuroSeq (pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms), please refer to the Molecular & Genomic Pathology Laboratory website: http://mgp.upmc.com.

(2) Pathologic evaluation of non-neoplastic pancreatic pathology. In collaboration with several investigators, Dr. Singhi is involved in a multi-institutional effort to characterize various non-neoplastic pancreatic diseases, such as genetically and environmentally associated chronic pancreatitis.

(3) Co-director of the Biospecimen Repository and Processing Core (BRPC) of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center (PLRC): http://livercenter.pitt.edu. Histopathologic and genetic characterization of peritoneal mesothelioma. In conjunction with members of the Division of Thoracic Pathology, Molecular & Genomic Pathology, and Surgical Oncology, Dr. Singhi's team has identified the genetic landscape of peritoneal mesothelioma with the goal of identifying biomarkers for prognostication and treatment stratification of patients.

(4) The epigenetic pathogenesis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. In collaboration with investigators at the UPMC Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. This represents an international observational trial to evaluate prognostic biomarkers for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and determine the underlying epigenetic pathogenesis of these increasingly prevalent neoplasms.