
The research in our group is focused on the development and application of mechanism based approaches to identify novel therapeutics for use in the treatment and prevention of hormonally responsive cancers. Specifically we are interested in the pharmaceutical exploitation of the estrogen and androgen receptors as therapeutic targets in breast and prostate cancers and in defining how these receptors influence the pathogenesis of these diseases. These efforts have led to the discovery of several drugs that are currently being evaluated in the clinic as cancer therapeutics, and to the identification of potential biomarkers and predictors of response that can help to target the use of these new drugs. Most recently we have explored approaches to treat triple negative breast cancer and have identified an important pathway that links obesity/dyslipidemia and cancer risk.
Education and Training
- Baylor College of Medicine, Ph.D. 1988
Selected Grants and Awards
- Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health
- Cancer cell intrinsic and extrinsic actions of steroid hormones in breast tumors
- Defining the Rules of Breast Cancer Cell Traffic Through Bone
- Identification of actionable networks promoting breast cancer progression and brain metastasis
- Translational Research in Surgical Oncology
- The Role of Epigenetic Plasticity in Breast Cancer Recurrence
- Identification of Novel Targets in Treatment Resistant Prostate Cancer
- Immune modulation of CaMKK2 in the ovarian tumor microenvironment
- RIP140 as a mediator of Estrogen Receptor action in tumor associated macrophages
- Targeting the GRHL2/AGR2/LYPD3 axis in breast cancer
- Targeting precursor neural (N)-cadherin to eliminate chemotherapy-resistant triple-negative breast tumor cells
- Role of Cholesterol Efflux Blockade in Mycobacterial Infection In Vivo
- ER and LXR as mediators of the pathobiology of hypercholesterolemia
- Pharmacology Industry Internships for Ph.D. Students
- Hypercholesterolemia as a modifier of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer
- Targeting differential apoptosis regulation in triple negative breast cancer
- Development of mechanistically distinct androgen receptor antagonists and degraders for the treatment of advanced castra
- Developing in vivo active probes for CAMKK2 to treat cancer
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Training Program
- Duke University Program in Environmental Health
- Macrophages and Treatment-Resistant NVAMD
- Effects of dietary methionine restriction on tumor growth and epigenetics
- Fibulin-3 as a Novel Biomarker and Trget in the Breast Tumor Microenvironment
- A Novel Function for ALK4 in Suppressing Breast Cancer Progression
- Developing small-molecule probes for protein arginine methyltransferases
- Seahorse XFe96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer
- Targeting the synthetic essential kinases of breast cancers
- Optimization of ERalpa-LBD-based CAR-T switch
- The role of ERRalpha/PGC-1 in disease pathogenesis
- CaMKK2: a druggable target that regulates macrophage function in breast cancer
- Control of the apoptosome in epithelial ovarian cancer to enhance chemotherapy
- Evaluation of the therapeutic potential of combining VT464 and G1T38 in treatment-resistant prostate and breast cancer models
- Kinase Target of Diverse Cell Surface Receptors in Cancer Invasion and Metastasis
- Lipid Activated Nuclear Receptors in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- Metabolism of Effector T cells as a Target in SLE
- BC123577: Targeting Epigenetics Therapy for Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancers
- Targeting the CDK 4/6 axis in Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer
- Targeting aerobic glycolysis in T-ALL
- Identification of a novel target for treating breast cancer metastasis
- Evaluation of VT-464 in AR positive and ER positive breast cancer models
- Androgen receptor degradation as a therapeutic modality in castrate resistant prostate cancer
- T cell metabolism as a determinant of differentiation in allergic asthma
- Clinical Oncology Research Career Development Program
- Determination of the antiandrogenic properties of VT-464, a novel CYP17 lyase inhibitor
- B cell metabolism in activation and autoantibody production
- Molecular pharmacology of bazedoxifene and pipendoxifene in breast cancer
- 27-hydroxycholesterol as a link between obesity and breast cancer pathogenesis
- Live-Animal Micro-CT System
- Molecular Determinants of Androgen Receptor Pharmacology
- Nonclassical signaling of the androgen receptor polyproline domain
- G Protein Involvement in Oncogenesis and Metastasis
- Integrated instrument systems for maintenance and delivery of RNAi libraries
- The Androgen Receptor: Cofactor Interface
- Development and Use of Systems to Study Estrogen Action
- RAR-Beta Mediated Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells