Pomila Singh, PhD
September 2020
Dr. Pomila Singh received her PhD in reproductive biology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, India, followed by a postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Endocrinology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. She was recruited to UTMB’s Department of Surgery in 1983 as an assistant professor and is currently a tenured professor in the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, with additional appointments in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Department of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Singh’s distinguished research program focuses on colon carcinogenesis, the functional role of stem cell marker proteins, and strategies for targeting cancer stem cells. Her laboratory received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for over 30 years, and she has been awarded seven patents related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Her research has been featured in over 140 scientific publications, and she has been an invited speaker at over 80 local, national, and international conferences and events. She has served as a scientific reviewer for over 30 scientific journals and as a grant reviewer for numerous organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, among many others.
In addition to her successful research career, Dr. Singh has demonstrated a commitment to the training of future research scientists and has provided extensive, long-term support and service to the educational programs at UTMB. She has served as the director of the Cell Biology Graduate Program since 2013, has lectured in and directed multiple courses in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) and the School of Medicine, and has chaired and served on many committees involving curriculum management, program development, and recruitment and admissions. Students not only value her abilities as a teacher, but also as a student advocate and mentor. In her time at UTMB, she has mentored over 80 trainees, including high school students, medical students, surgical residents, visiting fellows/scientists, and graduate students in the field of cancer research. She has also mentored multiple junior faculty members.
Dr. Singh’s trainees highlight her ability to teach them to think critically and to develop their research skills. Her strength as a mentor is evidenced by the fact that so many of her mentees have been successful in their career development and contributions to science. Her ability to positively impact the training of students has been recognized by both her trainees and peers through her selection for the 2011 Graduate Student Organization Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2011 and 2019 Distinguished Faculty Service Awards, the Mary and J. Palmer Saunders Professorship for Excellence in Teaching (2011-2013), and the 2013 Cell Biology Program Teaching Excellence Award. For her educational excellence over the course of her career of service at UTMB, please join the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in celebrating Dr. Singh as the September 2020 GSBS Focus on Mentoring designee.