Dean Tang, PhD

Co-Leader, CCSG Developmental Therapeutics Program
Director, Experimental Therapeutics PhD Track
Chair, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics
George Decker Endowed Chair in Developmental Therapeutics

Research Interests:

  • Stem cell development
  • Cancer stem cells
  • Cancer cell heterogeneity and plasticity
  • Prostate cancer
  • Non-coding RNAs and Epigenetics
  • Experimental therapeutics

Biography

Dean Tang, PhD, is currently Distinguished Professor and Chair of Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. He also holds the George Decker Endowed Chair in Developmental Therapeutics. Trained as a Pathologist, Dean obtained his PhD in Cancer Biology in 1994 from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI, USA). In 1998-2000, Dr. Tang pursued a Burroughs-Wellcome senior post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Martin Raff at the MRC LMCB (University College London, UK) studying stem/progenitor cell development and plasticity. In June 2000, Dr. Tang joined the University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center as a faculty member. 

After working at the M.D Anderson for 16 years, Dr. Tang was recruited to Roswell Park in June 2016 to Chair the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Co-Lead the CCSG Developmental Therapeutics (DT) Program. He’s also the Chair of the Experimental Therapeutics (ET) Graduate Program. For the past ~23 years (since 2002), Dr. Tang and his colleagues have been studying cancer cell heterogeneity and plasticity (with a particular focus on prostate cancer) and their impact on tumor development, progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance. 

The lab has been developing novel tools and experimental model systems to therapeutically target the undifferentiated, treatment-reprogrammed, and therapy-resistant prostate cancer stem cells. The Tang lab has performed extensive genetic model- and xenograft-based therapeutic experiments as well as organoid-based high-throughput screening to identify both FDA-approved drugs as well as novel small-molecule inhibitors that can preferentially target AR-/lo PCa stem cells (PCSCs) and CRPC cells. Some of Dr. Tang’s preclinical studies have been translated to early-phase clinical trials (e.g., NCT03751436). Dr. Tang is an elected AAAS member and has published >220 research and reviews papers with current H-index of 81, i10-index of 161 and ~23,000 citations (Google scholar).

Positions

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

  • Distinguished Professor of Oncology
  • Co-Leader, CCSG Developmental Therapeutics Program
  • Director, Experimental Therapeutics PhD Track
  • Chair – Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics
  • George Decker Endowed Chair in Developmental Therapeutics

Background

Education and Training

  • 1994 - PhD - Cancer Biology - Wayne State University Medical School, Detroit, MI
  • 1986-1989 - MS - Cancer Biology - Wuhan University School of Medicine, Wuhan, China

Residency

  • Oncological Pathology - Wuhan, China

Fellowship

  • 1998-2000 – Postdoctoral Fellow – MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, London

Professional Experience

  • 2016 - present - Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
  • 2000-2016 - Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Honors & Awards

  • 2021 - George Decker Endowed Chair in Developmental Therapeutics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • 2021 - Co-organizer, the Keystone eSymposia, ‘Stem Cells and Cancer’
  • 2016 - Fellow of AAAS (American Association of Advancement of Science)
  • 2014 - The Spandidos Publications Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement
  • 2013 - Keynote Speaker, “Cancer Stem Cells: The Mechanisms of Radioresistance and Biomarker Discover Symposium,” Dresden, Germany
  • 2012 - Sanofi - Cell Research Outstanding Review Paper Award
  • 2007 - The Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • 2003-2007 - American Cancer Society (ACS) Research Scholar
  • 1998-2002 - Burroughs Wellcome Fund Hitchings-Elion Award

Research Overview

Our lab research aims to elucidate the fundamental biological principles that govern the generation of tumor cell heterogeneity via cancer stem cells (CSCs) and cancer cell plasticity via epigenetic mechanisms, and to take our newly gained knowledge to translate to the clinic. By focusing on prostate cancer (PCa), we have characterized the biological and tumorigenic properties and identified novel molecular regulators of prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs). We have recently shown that PCa cell heterogeneity, especially heterogeneity in AR expression, has a great impact on PCa cell response to clinical therapies. This line of research has been translated to a phase I/IIb clinical trial (NCT03751436; Chatta, PI) that treats mCRPC patients with a combination of enzalutamide and the only FDA-approved BCL-2 specific inhibitor venetoclax. The lab has several inter-connected research projects.

1. Investigate normal prostate epithelial cell heterogeneity & hierarchy and PCa cell(s)-of-origin
2. Elucidate PCa cell heterogeneity and plasticity: Roles in therapy resistance, relapse & metastasis
3. Uncover molecular regulators and therapeutic targets of PCSCs and CRPC
4. Dissect PCa cell heterogeneity and immunity & PCa cell coevolution with the TME
5. Develop novel therapeutics and therapeutic combinations to tackle PCa heterogeneity and plasticity

 

Pharmacology and Therapeutics Lab Members:

  • Xiaozhuo (Dalton) Liu, PhD
  • Anmbreen Jamroze, PhD
  • Rahul Kumar, PhD
  • Ruifang (Nancy) Liu, PhD
  • Eoghan Connors, M.S
  • Shan Wu, PhD candidate
  • Moyi Wang, PhD candidate

Featured on CancerTalk

Publications

  Full Publications list on PubMed

Representative Publications: