Prof. Ashok Kumar

Dr. Ashok Kumar is Founding Director of the Institute of Muscle Biology and Cachexia (IMBC) and Else and Philip Hargrove Endowed Professor of Drug Discovery at the University of Houston. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and was formerly a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Dr. Kumar’s research focuses on the molecular mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle mass, muscle regeneration, cancer-associated cachexia, and pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. His pioneering work identified TWEAK as a key driver of muscle wasting and established critical roles for TRAF6, TAK1, MyD88, and IRE1α in skeletal muscle biology and stem cell function.

He has mentored more than 60 trainees, published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, such as Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Cell Reports Medicine, Journal of Cell Biology, EMBO Reports, EMBO Molecular Medicine, JCI Insight, Molecular and Cellular Biology, eLife, and Science Signaling. He maintains continuous NIH funding and serves as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and international funding agencies.