Jason Kirk

Research Overview:

My research interest is in understanding the cellular heterogeneity of the prostate gland. Specifically, how the different cells of the prostate interact with each other under both normal and castration conditions. Understanding these complex cellular relationships will help us better understand prostate cancer biology, and ultimately develop better therapeutic options for patients with this disease.

To study prostate cellular relationships I have been utilizing mouse models and single-cell sequencing technologies. Single-cell sequencing allows us to examine each cell type of the gland under various biological conditions. Using this information we hope to understand how cells communicate and survive under normal and castrate conditions. Improved understanding of the castration resistance process will be applied to therapeutic development strategies for prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

In addition to understanding prostate cell heterogeneity, my focus is also on the development of better clinical tools to assess prostate cancer patient responsiveness to treatment. To this end we have been developing strategies to isolate, enumerate, and phenotypically analyze circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patients undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. The use of liquid biopsies to analyze a patient's real-time response to therapeutics would have a major impact on clinical care, and it is our goal to make this a reality.