Cancer Researchers on the Rise: Amin Sobh, Ph.D.

Amin Sobh, Ph.D., is a research assistant professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the UF College of Medicine who recently completed his postdoctoral training in the lab of Jonathan D. Licht, M.D., director of the UF Health Cancer Center.

Sobh studies multiple myeloma, the second most common blood cancer. He focuses on a subtype characterized by a chromosomal abnormality that drives overexpression of a cancer-promoting gene called NSD2. The abnormality typically makes the disease more aggressive and patients have worse outcomes. Sobh’s research aims to identify vulnerabilities in cells caused by NSD2 overexpression that can be therapeutically targeted and translated to the clinic.

Recently, using cutting-edge technology including gene editing screens, Sobh’s team probed the role of genes in multiple myeloma cell survival. They identified a gene called adenylate kinase 2 (AK2) that has a selective dependency in NSD2 overexpression. They also discovered the mechanism by which blocking AK2 kills myeloma cells, and they explained how NSD2 overexpression can drive the dependency on AK2 for survival. The results were described in a recent publication in Blood, the flagship journal of the American Society of Hematology. Now, the team is working to identify compounds that can target AK2, with the hope of translating the discoveries to the clinic to benefit multiple myeloma patients with the t(4;14) chromosomal translocation.

Sobh obtained his Ph.D. in comparative biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Licht laboratory as a postdoctorate associate in May 2018. His research in the Licht lab was supported by a 2019 American Association for Cancer Research-Takeda Oncology Myeloma Research Fellowship.

Sobh’s research has won several accolades, including poster awards at the UF Health Cancer Center’s 2023 and 2024 annual Research Showcases.

NCI Cancer Center badge