University of California-San Francisco · BiologyPancreatic Cancer Mechanisms Lab
Rushika Miriam Perera · San Francisco, California
Research Focus
Dr. Rushika Perera's lab at UCSF focuses on understanding pancreatic cancer, specifically the mechanisms that allow these cancer cells to survive in harsh environments. The lab explores how certain proteins in lysosomes, which are the cell's waste disposal units, help pancreatic cancer cells grow and spread, even in nutrient-poor conditions. By investigating these processes, the lab aims to develop new treatment strategies targeting these proteins to combat this aggressive cancer.
pancreatic cancerlysosomal functionmacromolecular recyclingproteomicsbioenergeticsmetastasistherapeutic inhibitors
Research Aims
4AIM 01Identify lysosomal proteins crucial for the survival of pancreatic cancer cells.
AIM 02Investigate the role of PLBD1 in pancreatic cancer metabolism.
AIM 03Examine how LGMN facilitates the metastatic growth of pancreatic cancer in the liver.
AIM 04Develop targeted inhibitors for PLBD1 and LGMN to assess their therapeutic potential.
Skills the Lab Values
mass spectrometryproteomicscell culturegene editing (CRISPR)small molecule chemistryimmunoprecipitationlive-cell imagingmetabolic assays
Output against the department
Publications88bottom 29% of dept.731st of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations12ktop 31% of dept.318th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.