Akhil Srivastava, PhD

University of Missouri – Columbia (MU)

Dr. Srivastava leads projects studying the molecular basis of cancer pathophysiology and developing novel anti-cancer therapeutic strategies focusing on Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) or ‘exosomes.’ The area of interest includes elucidating the function of cancer cell-derived EVs in creating a favorable ecosystem of cancer growth. He is also interested in capturing and studying the molecular entities carried by these EVs to develop stringent molecular signals that can be used as biomarkers to diagnose disease or monitor treatment response. In addition, to leverage the translational potential of EVs, Dr. Srivastava has engineered EVs as a novel biomimetic multifunctional theranostic system for the simultaneous delivery of anti-cancer therapeutics and imaging.