Dr. Nallasivam Palanisamy scientific training is in the field of molecular biology and cytogenetics. Prior to joining the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (MCTP), he was a group leader in cancer biology at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) where he established the molecular cytogenetics laboratory and conducted research on the identification and characterization of molecular markers (gene fusions) in solid tumors, with particular emphasis on breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Prior to joining GIS, he was the founding scientist and director of research and development, in the Genomics Research Services division at Cancer Genetics, Inc. (CGI, Milford, MA). During his tenure he introduced novel approaches in FISH probe development for the routine diagnosis of recurrent chromosome translocations in cancer at high specificity and sensitivity. Based on the new approaches, he filed three patent applications on novel probe development, one of which was granted in September 2009. He developed and commercialized 40 probes for the detection of non-random chromosome translocations and other recurrent chromosome abnormalities present in lymphomas and leukemias. His research work at CGI was supported by three Phase I and one Phase II SBIR grant applications (~$2 million) funded by NCI.
