UNM Postdoctoral Fellow: Anitha Vijayakumar

Anitha Vijayakumar spent more than 10 years studying biochemistry, specifically the Lipid Metabolism. That background would eventually lead her to where she is right now as a University of New Mexico postdoctoral fellow where her research focus is to discover a way to manipulate certain RNA-binding proteins that could one day lead to making cancer treatments more effective.

"Research is about fueling our own curiosity to make difference," Vijayakumar said. "I care because it holds the potential to improve lives and create a better world."

Vijayakumar's research, within the Division of Molecular Medicine at the UNM Health Sciences Center, focuses on RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). As Vijayakumar explains, RBPs help control how and when different genes in a cell are turned on or off by interacting with RNA molecules. RNA (mRNA) is the molecule that carries genetic information from DNA to make proteins, which are the building blocks and functional units of cells.

"These proteins can decide what happens to the RNA, whether it gets translated into a protein, how long it stays in the cell, or whether it's broken down," Vijayakumar said. "This control is crucial for the cell's health and function. If RBPs malfunction or are improperly regulated, it can lead to various diseases including cancer. Understanding these proteins helps us uncover how cells maintain balance and how this balance can be disrupted."

Vijayakumar was born in the small town of Tamilnadu, India. She credits family and mentors for fostering her interest in biology. Vijayakumar received degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology before pursuing a doctorate degree in Biological Sciences.

"As a researcher, I failed multiple times, but I can only recall the learning after each failure, which always enabled me to improve my skill sets," she said. "This taught me the importance of knowing my projects and related experiments at their most fundamental level. As a result, I got the knowledge and skill sets necessary to manage several projects concentrating on plant biology, food, and, lately, cancer biology."

Vijayakumar said her time as a Lobo has proved to promote and enhance collaboration among several disciplines all working to address complicated challenges in cancer biology, something she hopes continues in her new role as a research assistant professor.

"Stepping into the role feels like opening a new chapter of possibility to explore deeper into the unknown," she said. "I'm eager to blend curiosity with purpose, turning questions into breakthroughs."