Subhra Mohapatra, Ph.D.

Professor, Molecular Medicine
University of South Florida
Research Career Scientist
James A. Haley Veterans Hospital

27 U.S. Patents

Subhra Mohapatra, Ph.D., is a Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and a Research Career Scientist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida. She is also the co-founder of Transgenex Nanobiotech, a company focused on cancer stem cell-targeted therapeutics, and the co-founder of Agile Diagnostics (ADX), Inc., which develops rapid diagnostic technologies.

With an interdisciplinary background in chemistry, immunology, and molecular engineering—and a career spanning more than 25 years—Dr. Mohapatra has built a world-class research program at USF and the VA. Her work has significantly advanced cancer research, regenerative medicine, and neurotherapeutics, helping shape the evolving landscape of precision medicine. Most notably, Dr. Mohapatra’s pioneering nanofiber-based tumoroid culture systems—including tumor-on-a-disc and the four-dimensional perfused tumor-on-a-chip technologies—have revolutionized how cancer is modeled in the lab, offering new hope for personalized treatments. These platforms allow for the growth of patient-derived tumors that retain the genetic and pathological features of the original cancer, enabling precise testing of therapies tailored to individual tumor profiles.

In addition to transforming translational bench-to-bedside cancer research, Dr. Mohapatra’s scientific innovations extend to complex neurological disorders and public health crises. She developed a novel nose-to-brain nanodrug delivery system with potential applications for brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease. Her research was among the first to demonstrate how COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may influence gene expression associated with Alzheimer’s disease, illuminating the potential long-term neurological consequences of COVID-19.

Beyond her academic research, Dr. Mohapatra is also an inventor-entrepreneur. As co-founder of Agile Diagnostics (ADX), Inc., she led the development of a game-changing, ultra-rapid detection technology that is capable of detecting viral antigens, including COVID-19, in under a minute. Unlike traditional antibody-based tests, this system boasts high sensitivity and resilience against emerging variants, with the potential to transform diagnostic access globally. She also founded Transgenex Nanobiotech to advance cancer stem cell-focused therapeutics and diagnostics, translating her discoveries into technologies that are actively shaping cancer drug development, delivery, and testing.

Dr. Mohapatra holds 27 U.S. Patents. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). She has received numerous awards, including multiple VA Merit Review Awards and the prestigious Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development (BLR&D) Research Career Scientist Award in 2018. She also serves as Academic Editor for PLOS One, and she was awarded the PLOS One Editorial Board Long Service Award in 2023.

Dr. Mohapatra earned her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Utkal University in India. She received a Master’s in Information Systems (M.I.S.) from McGill University in Canada and completed her Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of Manitoba.