OU Cancer Researcher Elected Foreign Fellow to Indian National Science Academy

Citing a background of innovative cancer research, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) has elected OU’s Priyabrata Mukherjee, Ph.D., as a foreign fellow. His fellowship will begin Jan. 1, 2026.

Mukherjee is a tenured professor of pathology at the OU College of Medicine whose work focuses on tumor microenvironments and the interactions between proteins and nanoparticles. He holds the George Lynn Cross Research Professorship and the Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professorship.

His laboratory carries out fundamental research at the interface of biology and materials science. Mukherjee’s emphasis on the interconnectedness of all things has been carried throughout his career to portray a full picture of human physiology, including disease. As a result, his research has explored various processes, such as drug delivery, the creation of new blood vessels from existing ones, known as angiogenesis, and tumor metabolism.

Mukherjee has pioneered research into how cancer cells survive under stressful conditions, like lack of oxygen, which includes discovering how hydrogen sulfide puts cancer cells in a hibernation-like state to protect them from oxygen loss. His team in collaboration with Resham Bhattacharya, Ph.D., a faculty member in the College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has also explained how enzymes that generate hydrogen sulfide contribute to ovarian cancer.

Established in 1935 to cultivate and promote scientific knowledge in India, INSA offers foreign fellowships to scientists who are internationally renowned leaders in their fields and have close ties to the Indian scientific community.

“I am deeply honored and truly humbled by this recognition,” Mukherjee said. “I am thankful to INSA for electing me as a foreign fellow and including me among the stalwarts in the field. I am truly grateful to all of my mentors, mentees, colleagues, collaborators and friends who contributed immensely to my professional development and made this recognition possible. This is also important recognition for our institution and a reflection of the high-quality research that our faculties perform here.”

Mukherjee also serves as the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Endowed Chair of Laboratory Cancer Research and the senior director for research partnership and collaboration at the Stephenson Cancer Center. He is a co-director of the cancer center’s nanomedicine program and is an Oklahoma TSET Research Scholar.

About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.