Sahezeel Awadia, Ph.D.

Sahezeel Awadia, Ph.D., is an Instructor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a researcher within the Department’s Section of Molecular Medicine. Dr. Awadia earned both his bachelor of science and master of science degrees in microbiology from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University and The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in biology with a concentration in cancer biology from The University of Toledo in Ohio. Following his doctoral studies, he completed postdoctoral research training in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan, where his work focused on mechanistic elucidation of therapeutic resistance in luminal breast cancer.

As a member of the Alluri Lab, Dr. Awadia’s research program is dedicated to identifying and targeting vulnerabilities in aggressive cancers. He specializes in the translational biology of breast cancer, with a core focus on identifying and mechanistically elucidating novel cell cycle regulatory pathways that drive resistance to targeted therapies. By integrating high-content live-cell imaging, CRISPR-based gene editing, and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, his work aims to move discoveries from basic mechanistic insights to preclinical validation.

Dr. Awadia has contributed to several publications focusing on the molecular pathways that regulate cell signaling, epithelial polarity, and cancer progression. His work frequently examines proteins such as FADD, RhoG, and the Scribble/SGEF/Dlg complex, highlighting their roles in cell cycle control, migration, invasion, and therapeutic resistance across multiple cancer types.