Banks Anderson, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Pathology Qianben Wang, PhD, has been awarded a five-year, $3.06 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. The award supports research aimed at inhibiting cancer metastasis ̶ the primary cause of cancer-related deaths, including castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). His team aims to do this by targeting the key oncogenic transcription factor HOXB13, a protein that binds to certain parts of DNA and helps to control the activity of cancer-associated genes.
Wang’s team is creating a tiny, specially designed particle (a “nanoparticle”) that can carry a new type of gene therapy straight to advanced prostate cancer cells—even if they’ve spread to the bones, liver, or lungs. This method uses an RNA-targeting tool called CRISPR/Cas13d to switch off cancer-driving genes in a way that could be both safer and more effective. If successful, it might greatly improve treatment options and save lives for men with metastatic prostate cancer, a condition that currently has few effective therapies. The same CRISPR/Cas13d system could also be adapted to target other hard-to-treat cancer genes in prostate tumors and other solid cancers, opening up possibilities for broader breakthroughs.
Co-investigators on this grant include Duke University School of Medicine Johnston-West Endowed Department Chair of Pathology Jiaoti Huang, MD, PhD; Professor Yizhou Dong, PhD, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Linda T. and John A. Mellowes Endowed Chair of Bioinformatics and Data Analytics Victor Jin, PhD, from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Over the past two years, Wang has secured three highly competitive R01 grants from the NCI—two ranked at the very top (top one percent) of all applications and another in the top five percent. These accolades underscore the significance of his ongoing work to identify and target transcriptional and post-transcriptional vulnerabilities in lethal prostate cancer.
Over the course of his career, Wang has made significant contributions to gene regulatory mechanisms and gene therapy strategies in diseases. He was named as a 2024 Duke University School of Medicine Distinguished Professor for his record of extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health.
His research primarily focuses on understanding the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms driving the progression of hormone-dependent cancers. His work has reshaped single-gene-based thinking and introduced a genome-wide view of gene regulation in hormone-dependent cancer. His lab has pioneered the integration of CRISPR/Cas13-based technologies with nanotechnology to target undruggable transcriptional and post-transcriptional vulnerabilities in cancers. Additionally, his lab has initiated groundbreaking work in targeting host proteases to control infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses.