Zhong Chen, PhD has received a five-year National Cancer Institute (NCI) R50 Research Specialist (Laboratory-based Scientist) Award. This grant program is designed to encourage exceptional scientists to pursue cancer research within the context of an existing cancer research program. Dr. Chen will perform systems analysis of the prostate cancer epigenome, using a genome-scale approach to reveal the under-studied epigenetic events that characterize prostate cancer progression to the treatment-resistant state. This proposed work will be an integral part of an NCI Cancer Systems Biology Consortium (CSBC) U54 program led by Dr. Qianben Wang that focuses on epigenetic mechanisms exploited by hormone-resistant cancer cells to acquire growth and invasion advantages. In the proposed R50 studies, Dr. Chen will design and utilize a functional ‘omics-oriented CRISPR/dCas9-based system for therapeutic prostate cancer epigenome editing. This represents a new area of cancer research and is designed to facilitate the translation of the U54 epigenetic discoveries into therapeutic tools and clinical benefits.