Nikita Jinna, Ph.D.

Nikita Jinna, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences
Research Area
  • Breast Cancer
Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences

Dr. Nikita Jinna is an assistant professor in the Division of Health Equities and the Department of Population Sciences. Dr. Jinna completed her undergrad at the Georgia Institute of Technology and received her doctorate in molecular cell biology at Georgia State University. Her graduate research was supported by the NIH/NCI Cancer Disparity Diversity Supplement in which she focused on identifying and validating risk-prognostic biomarkers for triple negative breast cancer patients of African ancestry. Her dissertation focused on analyzing differences in centrosomal amplification profiles and mitotic propensity between Black and White breast cancer patients to better guide clinical decision-making and reduce racial disparities in outcomes. During her predoctoral studies Dr. Jinna was awarded the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience (CURE) Scholar Award, AACR Susan G. Komen Scholar-In-Training Award, and the AACR Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award.

Dr. Jinna joined the City of Hope® Beckman Research Institute as a NCI T32 Cancer Metabolism postdoctoral fellow where she delved further in cancer disparities and triple negative breast cancer research under the tutelage of Dr. Victoria Seewaldt. During her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Jinna studied the role of an apoptosis-preventing biomarker kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) in quadruple negative breast cancer, which predominately afflicts and impact women of African descent. She has been able to validate KIFC1 as an alternative risk-prognostic biomarker and actionable target for this disease. Dr. Jinna received the NIH/NIBIB Diversity Supplement Award during her postdoctoral studies.

Dr. Jinna is currently focused on identifying and validating alternative actionable targets for triple and quadruple negative breast cancer to aid in ameliorating racial disparities in breast cancer. She is also studying racial disparities in aging and early cellular- and tissue-level changes that may be predisposing women of African ancestry to develop breast cancer at a younger age and acquire more aggressive tumor subtypes.  

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees
  • 2019, M.S., Ph.D., Molecular Cell Biology, Georgia State University
  • 2011, B.S., Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology

Publications

  • Wright N, Xia J, Cantuaria G, Klimov S, Jones M, Neema P, Il'yasova D, Krishnamurti U, Li X, Reid MD, Gupta M, Rida PC, Osan R, Aneja R. Distinctions in Breast Tumor Recurrence Patterns Post-Therapy among Racially Distinct Populations. PLoS One. 2017 Jan 13;12(1):e0170095.
  • Ogden A, Garlapati C, Li X, Turaga R, Oprea-Ilies G, Wright N, Bhattarai S, Mittal K, Wetherilt C, Krishnamurti U, Reid M, Jones M, Gupta M, Osan R, Pattni S, Riaz A, Klimov S, Rao A, Cantuaria G, Rida PC, Aneja R. Multi-institutional study of nuclear KIFC1 as a biomarker of poor prognosis in African American women with triple-negative breast cancer. Sci Rep. 2017 Feb 20;7:42289.
  • Jinna N, Van Alsten S, Rida P, Seewaldt V, Troester M. Molecular Features of Androgen-Receptor Low, Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancers in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2023 Mar 22:rs.3.rs-2693555. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2693555/v1. Update in: Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023 Jul 12;: PMID: 36993425; PMCID: PMC10055609.
  • Jinna N, Yate-Ching Y, Rida P. Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1/HSET) underlies aggressive disease in androgen receptor-low and basal-like triple negative breast cancers. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Nov 8;24(22):16072. doi: 10.3390/ijms242216072. PMID: 38003261; PMCID: PMC10671256.
  • Rida R, Baker S, Saidykhan A, Brown I, Jinna N. FOXM1 transcriptionally co-upregulates centrosome amplification and clustering genes and is a biomarker for poor prognosis in Androgen Receptor-low Triple-negative breast cancer. Cancers. Accepted for publication.