Bio
Post-Doc Harvard Medical School, 2012-2017Ph.D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2012M.S. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2009B.S. University of Tehran, 2007
"My research, at the interface of computational systems biology, quantitative pharmacology and cancer biology, aims at discovering fundamental mechanisms that regulate the behavior of human cells in response to perturbations. From a detailed understanding of these mechanisms, we can learn to improve the responses of healthy cells to harmful stimuli, and develop rational strategies to induce selective killing in cancer cells."
Mohammad Fallachi-Sichani, PhD, Assistant Professor
Research in the Fallahi-Sichani laboratory aims at designing, building and utilizing new experimental and computational tools, as means to discover fundamental mechanisms that regulate the behavior of human cells in response to perturbations, such as cytokines, environmental stress, and therapeutic drugs. The lab merges data acquisition using advanced technologies such as multiplexed proteomic and genomic measurements, high-throughput microscopy and single-cell analysis with data-driven and mechanistic computational modeling.
The long-term goal of the current projects is to define, at a single-cell level, molecular mechanisms that underlie adaptive cell fate decisions in the presence of cell-autonomous, microenvironment, and therapy-induced selective pressures, and elucidate how they vary under unhealthy conditions, particularly in cancer cells. From a therapeutic point of view, a detailed understanding of these mechanisms will provide a rational basis for choosing the optimal therapeutic targets to: (1) maximize the desired effect in diseased cells (e.g. tumor cell killing), (2) prevent the development of therapeutic resistance, and (3) reduce therapy-induced adverse effects in healthy cells.
More about Dr. Fallahi-Sichani:
Mohammad Fallahi-Sichani obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the University of Tehran in 2007. In 2012, he earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he was awarded the Eleanor Towner Prize for Outstanding PhD Research under the joint supervision of Dr. Jennifer Linderman and Dr. Denise Kirschner. He then joined the laboratory of Dr. Peter Sorger at Harvard Medical School as a Life Sciences Research Foundation (LSRF) fellow, where he was also awarded a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH/NCI in 2015. Dr. Fallahi-Sichani began his faculty career at the University of Michigan in 2017. He joined the University of Virginia in June 2020.
Prospective Graduate Students
Fallahi-Sichani laboratory is currently accepting graduate student applications through the Department of Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program at the University of Virginia. We welcome graduate students interested in Systems Biology, Computational Biology, Biomedical Data Sciences, Cancer Biology and Pharmacology. Enthusiastic students with background in Biology or Engineering are encouraged to contact Dr. Fallahi-Sichani at fallahi@virginia.edu to discuss possible projects.
Prospective Postdocs
We also welcome highly motivated postdoctoral research candidates who are interested in working at the cutting edge of Quantitative Biology to the Fallahi-Sichani laboratory at the University of Virginia.