Grantee: Anil K. Sood

Anil K. Sood, MD

• MD Anderson Cancer Center

Anil Sood, M.D., researches the biological mechanisms by which chronic stress and related pathways can influence cancer growth and progression.

In their current research project, Dr. Sood and his team are elucidating the effects of sympathetic mediators on various cancer biological processes. Specifically, they have learned that dopamine levels are substantially reduced under chronic stress conditions and dopamine agonists might be effective in blocking the deleterious effects of chronic stress on cancer growth.

Dr. Sood and his team have gained a mechanistic understanding of stress effects and have provided translational avenues for blocking the effects of stress biology, which could be of value to biobehavioral sciences and cancer patients.