Research Summary
My background is in biophysical chemistry, which I’ve applied to the field of cancer genomics. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic, I carried out whole-genome, linkage disequilibrium experiments to identify susceptibility loci for aggressive prostate cancer. At UCSF, I embarked on biomarker discovery as a Translational Research Fellow for the UCSF Prostate SPORE program and discovered a DNA-based biomarker set to assess risk of recurrence after primary treatment for prostate cancer. My landmark paper in the American Journal of Pathology set the stage for the use of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) prostate cancer tissue with microarrays for copy-number assessment. Similarly, I was the first to demonstrate FFPE prostate biopsy tissue could be profiled on high-resolution microarrays. I continued to grow my biomarker research program as a Researcher in the Cancer Center and in the Department of Urology. As a Professor, I established myself as a translational researcher in prostate cancer, both in solid tumor and circulating biomarkers, as part of the Division of Hematology-Oncology. I helped move the circulating tumor cell (CTC) field beyond enumeration and was the first to genomically profile prostate cancer CTCs. The overarching goal of my research program is to identify prognostic biomarkers to aid in clinical decision-making.
Research Funding
April 5, 2011 - September 30, 2016 - External validation of GEMCaP, a prognostic DNA biomarker set for CaP recurrence , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA158200
September 1, 2005 - June 30, 2011 - CaP Metastasis Biomarkers: Validation/Genomics/Biology , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA115484
Education
John Carroll University, Cleveland, Ohio, B.S., 1992, Chemistry
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, M.S., 1995, Biophysical Chemistry
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, Ph.D., 1998, Biophysical Chemistry
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, Postdoc, 1998-2001, Prostate cancer genetics
University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, Postdoc, 2001-2003, Prostate cancer genomics