Donald McDonnell
Overview:
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.
Positions:
Glaxo-Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Molecular Cancer Biology, in the School of Medicine
Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Professor in Medicine
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
Education:
Ph.D. 1988
Grants:
Organization and Function of Cellular Structure
The Role of Epigenetic Plasticity in Breast Cancer Recurrence
Pharmacological Sciences Training Program
Pharmacology Industry Internships for Ph.D. Students
Targeting precursor neural (N)-cadherin to eliminate chemotherapy-resistant triple-negative breast tumor cells
Publications:
Inhibition of estrogen signaling in myeloid cells increases tumor immunity in melanoma.
Mechanistic Investigation of Site-specific DNA Methylating Agents Targeting Breast Cancer Cells.
Dysregulated cholesterol homeostasis results in resistance to ferroptosis increasing tumorigenicity and metastasis in cancer.
Current and emerging estrogen receptor-targeted therapies for the treatment of breast cancer.
Next-Generation Endocrine Therapies for Breast Cancer.
Research Areas:
