Erika Bhatt

Erika Bhatt investigates centrosome amplification as a driver of chromosomal instability in cancer, focusing on how extra centrosomes create multipolar mitotic spindles and promote chromosome missegregation. Her research characterized how cancer cells manage extra centrosomes by clustering them into pseudo-bipolar spindles, an error-prone process that generates CIN. She has shown that centrosome clustering, mediated by proteins including HSET, is a cancer-selective vulnerability that can be targeted therapeutically. Her work on polo-like kinase 4 (PLK4) as a centrosome biogenesis regulator has implications for CIN-targeted therapy.