Saumya Pant - Bristol Myers Squibb Featured Researcher
Saumya Pant, PhD
Director, Clinical Genomics and Genetics
Central New Jersey
Biography
Saumya Pant is the director of Clinical Genomics and Genetics, sitting within Bristol Myers Squibb’s Translational Medicine team, where she focuses on strategizing and executing rigorous genomic analysis for the company’s cross-therapeutic clinical research programs.
Saumya and her team work with discovery and translational scientists, pathologists, clinicians and bioinformaticians to develop and interrogate rich clinical datasets, yielding information about disease molecular signatures, drug mechanism of action, therapy resistance and biomarkers, with the aim of better identifying patient segments most likely to benefit from specific treatments.
“Genomics is a critical value driver for pharmaceutical R&D, as we know therapies with a genetic basis of action are more likely to succeed through development,” she said. “Utilizing genomic disease profiles and insights from our clinical trials, we can help identify novel genes and pathways implicated in disease development and treatment resistance or response, ultimately improving outcomes for patients.”
Saumya joined Bristol Myers Squibb in 2014 and has held positions across various teams, including a two year tenure at the Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb Research & Development Center (BBRC) in India, where she helped develop multi-platform discovery and translational research capabilities. She started her career at Merck, developing genomics-based companion diagnostics strategies. Saumya earned her PhD in cell and developmental biology from Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in translational research at Hoffman LaRoche.
Interests and Expertise
Saumya grew up in a small town in the Indian Himalayan mountains. She was influenced by the diverse, professional expertise of her close-knit, extended family ranging from mathematics to environmental policy. While Saumya grew up fascinated by technological innovations in healthcare, particularly related to early disease detection and monitoring, she was discouraged by the disparity in healthcare access across sections of her community.
“These early experiences drive my work,” she said. “I hope the research I am a part of will help enable better healthcare outcomes for all patient groups.”
Today, Saumya lives in New Jersey with her husband and teenage son. Outside of work she enjoys reading, writing and experiments with cooking a variety of cuisines. She is passionate about mentoring and developing her team, as well as encouraging students to pursue STEM careers to become the next generation of scientific leaders.