Kudos to Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD
Kudos to Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, Director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, for being the first urologist to receive an NCI R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (7 years of direct-cost research support at $600,000 per year) for researchers with a proven track record to continue making impactful contributions in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. R35 Awards allow scientists to explore bold new ideas, pivot their research without reapplying for funding every few years, and focus more on science and less on writing grants. A “poster person” surgeon scientist, Dan’s award recognizes his seminal career contributions to bladder cancer, most recently exemplified in two prestigious Nature papers on the importance of the loss of the Y chromosome in the underlying mechanisms of cancer aggressiveness.
Regarding, “bold new ideas,” Dr. Theodorescu is also currently collaborating with Drs. Clive Svendsen and Bipul Acharya at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Dr. Catalona in a “high-risk, high-reward” research project on developing a new human model for BRCA2-pathogenic mutation-driven prostate cancer thathas received funding through awards from the Urological Research Foundation. The early exciting results are under extended review for publication and will serve as the basis for future research grant proposals to further develop this important work.
