Research leadership: Maneesh Jain, PhD

This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers who will be honored at a ceremony for UNMC’s 2020 Scientist Laureate, Research Leadership, Distinguished Scientist and New Investigator Award recipients.

• Name: Maneesh Jain, PhD
• Title: Professor, UNMC Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine
• Joined UNMC: December 2001
• Hometown: Tundla/Delhi/Omaha

Research focus:

• Pancreatic cancer

The best advice I could give a beginning researcher is: to be focused, patient, interactive and open minded. Although this is an era of multidisciplinary research, one cannot be an expert on everything. While it is critical to recognize your strengths and build your research program around them, it is equally important to identify people who can complement your expertise and experience, and build collaborations and partnerships. Don’t be discouraged if things don’t go your way; there is an opportunity in every failure if one is patient and open minded.

The toughest lesson I’ve learned is: that TRUST is one of the hardest things to earn and the easiest thing to lose. Trust, honest self-assessment and sincere efforts for self-improvement are the essential first steps of team building.

The goal of my research is: to understand the intricate cross talk of tumor cells with the stromal cells (fibroblasts and immune cells) in pancreatic tumor microenvironment and exploit this knowledge to:

• Improve the efficacy of existing therapeutic modalities (chemotherapy, radiation therapy)
• Develop novel targeted therapies (immunotherapies and antibody-based therapies)
• Identify biomarkers for early detection and treatment response.

My research will make a difference because: we may find more effective ways to diagnose and treat pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most lethal malignancies. The reagents, models and approaches that we are developing also will help improve the basic understanding of pancreatic cancer pathophysiology and identify vulnerabilities that can be targeted.

The best part of my job is: that each day provides an opportunity to learn something new either from an ongoing experiment in the lab, having a corridor discussion with a colleague, surveying literature for a manuscript or a grant or simply attending a scientific talk. I am blessed with an amazing team of trainees, mentors, peers and collaborators and engaging with them in scientific (and sometimes philosophical) discussions is so stimulating and enriching.

Three things you may not know about me are:

• You can learn six things about me in UNMC Today archives. 🙂
• I am an Ergophile.
• I will never say no to a cup of tea, no matter what time of the day/night it is.