Karan Luthria

I am an MD-PhD student at Columbia University in the Izar Laboratory.

My research focuses on how cancers acquire the ability to metastasize, why some tumors recur years after treatment, and how they evolve within different tissue environments. In melanoma, I study how genetic alterations arise and change as tumors progress from primary lesions to distant metastases. I also develop computational methods that integrate single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and measurements of tissue mechanics to investigate the relationships between tumor cells and their surrounding tissues.

This work is motivated by a practical challenge: patient tumors are complex and evolve over time. It is difficult to capture their biology through any single type of measurement. I'm interested in developing computational and statistical methods that combine different data modalities, reconstruct tumor evolution across multiple samples, and link molecular findings to clinical outcomes. I hope this work will improve our understanding of metastatic progression and treatment response.

Before medical school, I studied computer science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). I was named to MLH’s Top 50 Hackers ↗ and received a Goldwater Scholarship for work using deep learning to improve drug-repurposing models.

Away from research, I play tennis, hike, and spend time in the mountains. I enjoy trying new restaurants and am a Yelp Elite reviewer, and I’m perfecting my chai-making process. I’m a Washington Wizards fan and make sure to watch each game (shoutout AJ Dybantsa); my fantasy football team, meanwhile, keeps losing each Sunday.