Dr. Himisha Beltran
I am a physician scientist focused on precision medicine and understanding mechanisms of treatment resistance in advanced prostate cancer. My lab has developed therapeutic targets and biomarkers for non-androgen receptor driven prostate cancer including neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), an aggressive subtype of castration resistant prostate cancer. I have led the molecular characterization of NEPC patient tumors. We have developed and characterized patient-derived prostate cancer preclinical models including organoids and PDXs. We use these models to understand the mechanisms underlying AR independent prostate cancer, the pathogenesis of NEPC, and to develop new therapeutic targets. We have also developed genomic and epigenetic assays for clinical trials including a cell free DNA platform that can detect emerging resistance subtypes of castration resistant prostate cancer. I lead clinical trials and team science projects that integrate multiple disciplines in order to accelerate translational research, including within the International Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C)-Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Dream Team, as Correlative Science Chair for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Cooperative Group GU Committee, and institutionally as part of the leadership of our DFCI precision oncology PROFILE program and Director of Translational Research within Medical Oncology.