As a physician-scientist and clinically trained medical oncologist and endocrinologist, my translational research focuses on steroid receptor signaling and endocrine-related malignancies. My goal has been to build upon my clinical training in Medical Oncology and Endocrinology and my bench research background, in order to deliver new, effective and safe treatment options to cancer patients.

My lab has delineated the role of somatic missense mutations in Speckle-type POZ protein (SPOP), that frequently occur in prostate cancer, by characterizing their effect on androgen receptor (AR) signaling, which is a critical driver of prostate cancer. My lab has also demonstrated that the transcription factor GATA2 is a regulator of AR signaling and a novel therapeutic target in prostate cancer. We have proposed pharmacological inhibition of GATA2 as a “first-in-field” approach to target AR expression and function and improve outcomes in advanced prostate cancer. We are currently developing small molecule inhibitors of GATA2 and of the steroid receptor coactivators (p160 SRCs) that can exert potent anticancer activity against prostate cancer.