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Dr. Devanjan Sikder, DVM, MS, PhD

Dr. Devanjan Sikder is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Director of the Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory (IMCPL), a premier GMP facility embedded within health Sciences.

With more than 19 years of experience in clinical development, regulatory strategy, and commercialization, Dr. Sikder has led the submission of 34 INDs, 13 BLAs, and secured 3 marketing approvals at UPMC, Dr. Sikder oversees the CGT product development and clinical CGT infrastructure across the entire translational continuum, enabling over 30 Phase 1–3 clinical trials through IMCPL’s Shadyside and Riviera facilities. He oversees the delivery of both Investigational and licensed CGT products (standard of care) and has oversight for processing, manufacturing, and distribution to the clinic. His team supports the development of CGT products for diverse indications in both cancer and non-cancer diseases.

Prior to joining IMCPL in 2024, Dr Sikder served as faculty at UT Southwestern Medical School and Burnham Institute of Medical Research.

Through his visionary leadership, Dr. Sikder has built a model that integrates scientific discovery with clinical translation and operational rigor. If you are interested in CGT product development, please contact us.

Publications (Chronological Order: Latest to Oldest)

  1. Mailankody S, Devlin SM, Landa J, Nath K, Diamonte C, Carstens EJ, Russo D, Auclair R, Fitzgerald L, Cadzin B, Wang X, Sikder D, Senechal B, Bermudez VP, Purdon TJ, Hosszu K, McAvoy DP, Farzana T, Mead E, Wilcox JA, Santomasso BD, Shah GL, Shah UA, Korde N, Lesokhin A, Tan CR, Hultcrantz M, Hassoun H, Roshal M, Sen F, Dogan A, Landgren O, Giralt SA, Park JH, Usmani SZ, Riviere I, Brentjens RJ, Smith EL. GPRC5D-Targeted CAR T Cells for Myeloma. N Engl J Med. 2022;387(13):1196-206. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2209900. PubMed PMID: 36170501; PubMed Central PMCID: 10309537.
  2. Adusumilli PS, Zauderer MG, Riviere I, Solomon SB, Rusch VW, O'Cearbhaill RE, Zhu A, Cheema W, Chintala NK, Halton E, Pineda J, Perez-Johnston R, Tan KS, Daly B, Araujo Filho JA, Ngai D, McGee E, Vincent A, Diamonte C, Sauter JL, Modi S, Sikder D, Senechal B, Wang X, Travis WD, Gonen M, Rudin CM, Brentjens RJ, Jones DR, Sadelain M. A Phase I Trial of Regional Mesothelin-Targeted CAR T-cell Therapy in Patients with Malignant Pleural Disease, in Combination with the Anti-PD-1 Agent Pembrolizumab. Cancer Discov. 2021;11(11):2748-63. Epub 20210715. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0407. PubMed PMID: 34266984; PubMed Central PMCID: 8563385.
  3. Wang X, Borquez-Ojeda O, Stefanski J, Du F, Qu J, Chaudhari J, Thummar K, Zhu M, Shen LB, Hall M, Gautam P, Wang Y, Senechal B, Sikder D, Adusumilli PS, Brentjens RJ, Curran K, Geyer MB, Mailankhody S, O'Cearbhaill R, Park JH, Sauter C, Slovin S, Smith EL, Riviere I. Depletion of high-content CD14(+) cells from apheresis products is critical for successful transduction and expansion of CAR T cells during large-scale cGMP manufacturing. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2021;22:377-87. Epub 20210716. doi: 10.1016/j.omtm.2021.06.014. PubMed PMID: 34514029; PubMed Central PMCID: 8411225.
  4. Sellayah D, Sikder D. Orexin restores aging-related brown adipose tissue dysfunction in male mice. Endocrinology. 2014;155(2):485-501. Epub 20131118. doi: 10.1210/en.2013-1629. PubMed PMID: 24248466.
  5. Sellayah D, Sikder D. Feeding the heat on brown fat. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2013;1302:11-23. Epub 20130923. doi: 10.1111/nyas.12276. PubMed PMID: 24111875.
  6. Sellayah D, Sikder D. Food for thought: understanding the multifaceted nature of orexins. Endocrinology. 2013;154(11):3990-9. Epub 20130903. doi: 10.1210/en.2013-1488. PubMed PMID: 24002035.
  7. Sellayah D, Sikder D. Orexin receptor-1 mediates brown fat developmental differentiation. Adipocyte. 2012;1(1):58-63. doi: 10.4161/adip.18965. PubMed PMID: 23700511; PubMed Central PMCID: 3661127
  8. Sellayah D, Bharaj P, Sikder D. Orexin is required for brown adipose tissue development, differentiation, and function. Cell Metab. 2011 Oct 5;14(4):478-90. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2011.08.010. Erratum in: Cell Metab. 2012 Oct 3;16(4):550. PMID: 21982708.
  9. Sachan N, Dey A, Rotter D, Grinsfelder DB, Battiprolu PK, Sikder D, Copeland V, Oh M, Bush E, Shelton JM, Bibb JA, Hill JA, Rothermel BA. Sustained hemodynamic stress disrupts normal circadian rhythms in calcineurin-dependent signaling and protein phosphorylation in the heart. Circ Res. 2011;108(4):437-45. Epub 20110113. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.110.235309. PubMed PMID: 21233454; PubMed Central PMCID: 3042501.
  10. Sellayah D, Bharaj P, Sikder D. Orexin is required for brown adipose tissue development, differentiation, and function. Cell Metab. 2011;14(4):478-90. doi: 20.1016/j.cmet.2011.08.010. PubMed PMID: 21982708.
  11. Singh S, Manda SM, Sikder D, Birrer MJ, Rothermel BA, Garry DJ, Mammen PP. Calcineurin activates cytoglobin transcription in hypoxic myocytes. J Biol Chem. 2009;284(16):10409-21. Epub 20090209. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M809572200. PubMed PMID: 19203999; PubMed Central PMCID: 2667728
  12. Renthal W, Kumar A, Xiao G, Wilkinson M, Covington HE, 3rd, Maze I, Sikder D, Robison AJ, LaPlant Q, Dietz DM, Russo SJ, Vialou V, Chakravarty S, Kodadek TJ, Stack A, Kabbaj M, Nestler EJ. Genome-wide analysis of chromatin regulation by cocaine reveals a role for sirtuins. Neuron. 2009;62(3):335-48. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.03.026. PubMed PMID: 19447090; PubMed Central PMCID: 2779727
  13. Wilkinson MB, Xiao G, Kumar A, LaPlant Q, Renthal W, Sikder D, Kodadek TJ, Nestler EJ. Imipramine treatment and resiliency exhibit similar chromatin regulation in the mouse nucleus accumbens in depression models. J Neurosci. 2009;29(24):7820-32. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0932-09.2009. PubMed PMID: 19535594; PubMed Central PMCID: 2717944.
  14. Ferdous A, O'Neal M, Nalley K, Sikder D, Kodadek T, Johnston SA. Phosphorylation of the Gal4 DNA-binding domain is essential for activator mono-ubiquitylation and efficient promoter occupancy. Mol Biosyst. 2008;4(11):1116-25. Epub 20080826. doi: 10.1039/b809291e. PubMed PMID: 18931787; PubMed Central PMCID: 4451857.
  15. Pulipparacharuvil S, Renthal W, Hale CF, Taniguchi M, Xiao G, Kumar A, Russo SJ, Sikder D, Dewey CM, Davis MM, Greengard P, Nairn AC, Nestler EJ, Cowan CW. Cocaine regulates MEF2 to control synaptic and behavioral plasticity. Neuron. 2008;59(4):621-33. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.06.020. PubMed PMID: 18760698; PubMed Central PMCID: 2626175.
  16. Sikder D, Kodadek T. The neurohormone orexin stimulates hypoxia-inducible factor-1 activity. Genes Dev. 2007;21(22):2995-3005. doi: 10.1101/gad.1584307. PubMed PMID: 18006690; PubMed Central PMCID: 2049199.
  17. Ferdous A, Sikder D, Gillette T, Nalley K, Kodadek T, Johnston SA. The role of the proteasomal ATPases and activator monoubiquitylation in regulating Gal4 binding to promoters. Genes Dev. 2007;21(1):112-23. Epub 20061213. doi: 10.1101/gad.1493207. PubMed PMID: 17167105; PubMed Central PMCID: 1759896.
  18. Xiao X, Yu P, Lim HS, Sikder D, Kodadek T. Design and synthesis of a cell-permeable synthetic transcription factor mimic. J Comb Chem. 2007;9(4):592-600. Epub 20070527. doi: 10.1021/cc070023a. PubMed PMID: 17530904; PubMed Central PMCID: 2518654
  19. Xiao X, Yu P, Lim HS, Sikder D, Kodadek T. A cell-permeable synthetic transcription factor mimic. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2007;46(16):2865-8. doi: 10.1002/anie.200604485. PubMed PMID: 17351994.
  20. Sikder D, Johnston SA, Kodadek T. Widespread, but non-identical, association of proteasomal 19 and 20 S proteins with yeast chromatin. J Biol Chem. 2006;281(37):27346-55. Epub 20060712. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M604706200. PubMed PMID: 16837462.
  21. Sulahian R, Sikder D, Johnston SA, Kodadek T. The proteasomal ATPase complex is required for stress-induced transcription in yeast. Nucleic Acids Res. 2006;34(5):1351-7. Epub 20060303. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkl012. PubMed PMID: 16517940; PubMed Central PMCID: 1390684.
  22. Page TJ, Sikder D, Yang L, Pluta L, Wolfinger RD, Kodadek T, Thomas RS. Genome-wide analysis of human HSF1 signaling reveals a transcriptional program linked to cellular adaptation and survival. Mol Biosyst. 2006;2(12):627-39. Epub 20060623. doi: 10.1039/b606129j. PubMed PMID: 17216044.
  23. Kodadek T, Sikder D, Nalley K. Keeping transcriptional activators under control. Cell. 2006;127(2):261-4. doi: 10.1016/j.Cell.2006.10.002. PubMed PMID: 17055428.
  24. Sikder D, Kodadek T. Genomic studies of transcription factor-DNA interactions. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2005;9(1):38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2004.12.008. PubMed PMID: 15701451.
  25. Nagaraja V, Sikder D, Jain P. DNA topoisomerase I from mycobacteria--a potential drug target. Curr Pharm Des. 2002;8(22):1995-2007. doi: 10.2174/1381612023393567. PMID: 12171525.
  26. Sikder D, Nagaraja V. A novel bipartite mode of binding of M. smegmatis topoisomerase I to its recognition sequence. J Mol Biol. 2001, 312(2):347-57. doi: 10.1006/jmbi.2001.4942. PMID: 11554791.
  27. Sikder D, Unniraman S, Bhaduri T, Nagaraja V. Functional cooperation between topoisomerase I and single-strand DNA-binding protein. J Mol Biol. 2001;306(4):669-79. doi: 10.1006/jmbi.2000.4384. PMID: 11243779.
  28. Sikder D, Nagaraja V. Determination of the recognition sequence of Mycobacterium smegmatis topoisomerase I on mycobacterial genomic sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 2000 Apr 15;28(8):1830-7. doi: 10.1093/nar/28.8.1830. PMID: 10734203; PMCID: PMC102816.
  29. Bhaduri T, Basak S, Sikder D, Nagaraja V. Inhibition of Mycobacterium smegmatis topoisomerase I by specific oligonucleotides. FEBS Lett. 2000 Dec 8;486(2):126-30. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(00)02261-4. PMID: 11113452.Bhaduri
  30. T, Sikder D, Nagaraja V. Sequence specific interaction of Mycobacterium smegmatis topoisomerase I with duplex DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1998 ;26(7):1668-74. doi: 10.1093/nar/26.7.1668. PMID: 9512537; PMCID: PMC147473.