About the PI

Robin Sebastian earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, where he worked with Dr. Sathees C. Raghavan to characterize DNA repair pathways in cell lines and mouse tissues—laying the foundation for his longstanding interest in genome stability. He then joined the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Philipp Oberdoerffer's lab, where he investigated how the histone variant macroH2A1.2 maintains the stability of the inactive X chromosome. In a subsequent fellowship with Dr. Mirit Aladjem at the NCI, he discovered the MRD mechanism, which selectively suppresses DNA replication within topologically associating domains that harbor DNA double-strand breaks. His laboratory now seeks to uncover how cells safeguard genome integrity under conditions of DNA damage and replication stress, and to translate these insights into new strategies for targeting genome instability in cancer.

Education and Training

• B.Sc., Bengaluru University
• M.S., Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Ph.D., Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Visiting Fellow and Research Fellow, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda

Awards and Honors

• National Cancer Institute Director's Intramural Innovation Award
• National Institutes of Health Fellows Award for Research Excellence
• Department of Biotechnology (India) International Travel Award
• Junior and Senior Research Fellowship, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India