08/24/2026
🎉 Congratulations Dr. Dipti Debnath!
Dipti successfully defended her dissertation to fulfill the requirements for the PhD in Biochemistry and Cancer Biology under the guidance of Dr. Robert Barber. Dipti’s dissertation, titled “Investigating Genetic Variants That Explain the Inverse Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer,” explored a surprising connection between two very different diseases.
Scientists have noticed for many years that people who have Alzheimer's disease tend to have a lower chance of developing cancer, and people who have cancer tend to have a lower chance of developing Alzheimer's. The research aims to understand whether our genes could help explain this unusual link. To study this, Dipti analyzed genetic information from more than one hundred thousand people using computer-based methods. She looked for specific regions in our DNA and specific genes that seem to push the body in opposite directions, raising the risk of one disease while lowering the risk of the other. The results identified several genes and biological pathways that appear to sit at the center of this trade off, many of which control how cells grow, divide, and repair themselves.
“Understanding this connection matters because it could one day help researchers find better ways to protect the brain without increasing cancer risk, or to treat cancer without harming brain health. My hope is that this work adds a small but meaningful piece to the larger puzzle of how these two diseases are related,” Dipti said.
“Looking ahead, I hope to continue working at the intersection of genetics, data science, and human health. My goal is to keep using computational and biological research to better understand complex diseases and to help turn scientific discoveries into real benefits for patients. I am excited to begin the next chapter of my career and to keep contributing to research that makes a difference in people's lives.”
