Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Akash is passionate about taking advances in genomics and applying them for patient care. After training in Chemical and Bioengineering at the University of Minnesota and Stanford University he started the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Washington and obtained a PhD in Genome Sciences. With his thesis advisor, Jay Shendure, Akash used next generation sequencing technologies to characterize the development and evolution of prostate cancer and glioblastoma. He also designed and implemented new methods using next-generation sequencing with applications for cancer genetics and prenatal genetic testing. He has published six first-author publications in journals including Nature Medicine, PNAS and Genome Medicine and is a co-inventor on one licensed patent. As a medical geneticist, Akash believes that the best approach to improve outcomes for children with complex congenital medical conditions stems from earlier diagnosis and intervention. To that effect, his current research goals are 1) to develop new genomic methods that identify children at risk for complex congenital diseases earlier, 2) to understand the molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disease in children that may serve as potential avenues for treatment and 3) to improve access and implementation of genomics more broadly in the clinic.
