Galina Bhatt

Galina Bhatt has demonstrated that sympathetic nerve fibers in the bone marrow regulate the hematopoietic stem cell niche and that aberrant adrenergic signaling promotes leukemia stem cell maintenance and chemotherapy resistance. Her work showed that norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerves activates beta-adrenergic receptors on leukemia stem cells, promoting quiescence and drug resistance. Her research on the neural bone marrow microenvironment has revealed that denervation or beta-blocker treatment sensitizes leukemia to chemotherapy by disrupting the protective neural niche.