Dr. Haley's Staff

John D. Haley, PhD

Director, Developmental Therapeutics, Stony Brook Cancer Center
Director, Proteomics Center, Stony Brook University

Associate Professor of Research, Department of Pathology, 
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
 

Program Overview

Over 90% of cancer patient deaths are attributable to metastasis and the majority of patients treated in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials have metastatic cancers. It is clear that metastatic cancers are increasingly heterogeneous, that is many different cell types and states are present within cancer tissues, and importantly metastatic cancers show increased resistance to radiation, chemotherapies and targeted therapies. Cellular plasticity plays a major role in the progression of cancer and the acquisition of mesenchymal cancer stem cell-like phenotypes has been correlated with poor prognosis. Several forms of plasticity have been documented, including epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), endothelial-mesenchymal transition and epithelial-neuroendocrine transition. EMT is an important cellular change which allows for metastasis and is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to chemo and targeted therapies in cancer patients. New therapeutics are needed to target the new spectrum of tumor survival signals now present within EMT-derived cells and within related cancer-stem cells. Through the generation and molecular characterization of EMT models, through RNAi-based target validation studies and follow-on pharmacology studies, new targets and compounds which promote death of metastatic cells can be identified and validated in panels of cell lines. Current research interests include defining and exploiting mechanisms for overcoming anti-cancer drug resistance and cancer metastasis.

Lab Members

Nicolas Coant, PhD