Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

Subash Khadka

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Khadka received his BS in 2012 and MS in 2015, both in Microbiology, from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. During his MS, he identified a cellulolytic thermophile bacterium from a hot spring and characterized its cellulase for industrial applications while supported by prestigious MS thesis award from Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). He acquired further research skills in biotechnology, biochemistry, and medicinal chemistry at NAST as a Research Associate. Spurred by paucity of cancer research in the country and the frustration of cancer patients he met, Dr. Khadka chose to pursue his PhD in integrated biomedical sciences with focus on tumor biology at UT Health San Antonio in 2018. His doctoral research investigated the molecular basis for tumorigenic transformation of myometrial stem cells into uterine fibroid tumor initiating cells, a prevalent model of uterine fibroid formation, under the guidance of Prof. Thomas Boyer. 

Following his graduation in 2024, he joined the laboratory of Prof. Luzhe Sun as a Postdoctoral Fellow at UT San Antonio Health Science Center, where he investigates hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) with the aim to improve clinical response to immune checkpoint therapy (ICT), the front-line treatment option for advanced HCC patients. His focus is to identify immune signatures of favorable ICT outcomes or to find ways to modulate HCC TIME in order to improve ICT response using various strategies and tools including targeted therapeutic fusion proteins and small molecules. Dr. Khadka believes that his current role allows him to merge his keen interest in immunology and tumor biology he developed during his master’s and doctoral studies, respectively.

In his free time, Dr. Khadka enjoys cycling, and spending time with family and friends.

  • Professional Background

    Education

    • 2024 - PhD- Integrated Biomedical Sciences - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
    • 2015 - MS- Microbiology - Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
    • 2012 - BS- Microbiology - Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Honors

    • 2026 - Best Poster Award, 2026 Mays Cancer Center Research Symposium, UT Health SA
    • 2022 - Travel Award, Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science, UT Health SA
    • 2022 - Poster Award, Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science, UT Health SA
    • 2017 - Best Poster Award, Microbiology Society UK & Amazing Microbiology Nepal
    • 2015 - MS thesis research grant, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

    Professional Memberships

    • 2025 - AACR Associate Membership
  • Research
    • Immune signatures to predict immunotherapy response
    • Factors modulating tumor immune microenvironment
    • Development of targeted immunomodulatory biotherapeutics
    • Immuno-oncology
    • Biochemistry and molecular biology

     

  • Publications
    • Park B, Khadka S, Ahn J, Vaquiz J, Igbekoyi O, Song CS, Chatterjee B. Ferroptosis induction, androgen biosynthesis disruption and prostate cancer suppression by androgen and vitamin D combination. BBA - Gen, 2025,1869(8), 130828.
    • Khadka S, Lukas B, Sun CX … Firestein R, Dai Y, Boyer TG. Mediator kinase inhibition drives myometrial stem cell differentiation and the uterine fibroid phenotype through super-enhancer reprogramming. J Mol Med (Berl). 2025;103(3):311-326.

    • Joshi G, Bhandari TK…Khadka S, Trecarten S, Abdelaziz A, Garg H, Bhandari M. The Current Landscape of Clinical Trials. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(7), 2519.

    • Chao T-C, Chen S-F, …, Khadka S…Boyer TG, Tsai K-L. Structural basis of the human transcriptional Mediator regulated by its dissociable kinase module. Mol Cell. 2024, 84:3932-3949.e3910.

    • Menon SV, Joshi G, Khadka S, Joshi P, Narayan Y, Mahalingam NK, Bhandari M. 2024. Multi-Omics Approaches for Reproductive Health Data. In: Sengupta, A., Narad, P., Majumdar, G., Modi, D. (eds) Data-Driven Reproductive Health. Springer, Singapore. (Book chapter).

    • Dannappel, M. V., Zhu, D., Sun, X., … Khadka S., . . . Firestein, R. CDK8 and CDK19 regulate intestinal differentiation and homeostasis via the chromatin remodeling complex SWI/SNF.      J Clin Invest. 2022; 132(20): e158593

    • Khadka S., Khadka D, Poudel RC, Bhandari M, Baidya P, Sijapati J & Maharjan J. Production Optimization and Biochemical Characterization of Cellulase from Geobacillus sp. KP43 Isolated from Hot Spring Water of Nepal. Biomed Res Int, 2022, 6840409

    • Barron L, Khadka S, Schenken R, He L, Blenis J, Blagg J, et al. Identification and characterization of the mediator kinase-dependent myometrial stem cell phosphoproteome. F&S Science. 2021; 2(4):383-95

    • Panthi G, Ranjit R, Khadka S… Park M. Characterization and antibacterial activity of rice grain-shaped ZnS nanoparticles immobilized inside the polymer electrospun nanofibers. Adv Compos Hybrid Mater. 2020; 3, 8–15

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