Joseph Ippolito

About Joseph Ippolito

• Metabolic oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a biochemical process that may lead to therapy resistance and tumor recurrence in men with prostate cancer. Characterizing the metabolism of treatment-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) tumors will validate potential use of OXPHOS for diagnosis, imaging, and treatment in men suffering from the disease.
• Dr. Joseph Ippolito will model metabolism in CRPC cells to evaluate the effects of OXPHOS on tumor growth and survival and determine if inhibiting OXPHOS will decrease tumor burden.
• Another challenge to managing CRPC is the present lack of precise imaging techniques to measure tumor burden in metastatic prostate cancer. Dr. Ippolito will use a mouse model of CRPC treated with OXPHOS inhibitors to test the feasibility of imaging decreased tumor metabolism.
• If successful, Dr. Ippolito’s research will lead to development of a novel medication, as well as innovative tools for identifying more lethal types of prostate cancer during the crucial early phase of a man’s disease and monitoring the effects of treatment on CRPC tumors.

What this means for patients: Characterizing the metabolic activity of CRPC cells will lay the groundwork for a new paradigm of research targeting prostate cancer. This research may lead to development of new treatments that improve outcome for patients.