Hari Koul
Professor
AUA University
USA
Biography
Dr. Hari K Koul, is the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Carroll W. Feist Endowed Chair in cancer, LSU School of Medicine -Shreveport. He also serves as Director of Basic and Translational Research at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, LSU Health Sciences Center - Shreveport.
Research Interest
He is specifically interested in two interrelated drivers of tumor progression: 1) Role of Red-Ox signaling and accompanying pathways in tumor progression and metastasis; and 2) Role of transcriptional reprogramming as driver of tumor progression and metastasis. Along these areas, we have four ongoing studies: Project one is aimed at evaluating the role of NOX4 activation in tumor progression via transcriptional reprograming in cancer cells with special emphasis on epigenetic regulation; Project two is aimed at evaluating the role of Unfolded Protein Response in tumor progression and metastasis and leveraging unresolved UPR as therapeutic strategy in cancer; Project three is aimed at understanding the regulatory mechanism and functional consequences of alterations in expression of putative metastasis suppressor SPDEF in prostate cancer; and, Project four is aimed at deciphering transcriptional reprograming in prostate cancer progression and metastasis with special emphasis on Androgen Receptor signaling and transcription factor abundance. Data from these four projects feeds our fifth project aimed at development of small molecules for targeted therapy of solid tumors. Another area of my research is to understand the mechanism/s that drive oxalate and calcium oxalate crystal induced chronic inflammatory process/es and dysfunction of renal epithelial cells, with a long-term objective to identify actionable targets to prevent oxalate nephropathy, kidney stone disease and end stage renal disease.