Bharat Bhatt

Bharat Bhatt investigates mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency and microsatellite instability (MSI) as drivers of cancer genome instability and determinants of immunotherapy response. His research has characterized the molecular consequences of MMR deficiency in generating the hypermutated, MSI-high cancer genome and the neoantigen landscape that makes MSI-high tumors responsive to anti-PD-1 therapy. He has applied whole-genome sequencing to characterize mutational signatures of MMR deficiency including SBS6, SBS15, and related signatures in MMR-deficient cancers. His translational work has advanced biomarker strategies for identifying MMR-deficient cancers across all tumor types for immunotherapy.