Dr. Xin Li at Clark Atlanta University has been granted a $50,000 highly competitive Disparities Seed Award from Prostate Cancer Research (PCR), Inc.
PCR is a research-focused nonprofit organization intent on delivering breakthroughs in medicine and treatments for men with prostate cancer, specifically the advanced stages of the disease. PCR uses a deep understanding of patients’ needs to influence and guide its decisions on what research projects to fund and what areas of research they want to explore. PCR focuses on not only adding years to life but also adding life to years. There is simply not enough research being done to help those with advanced prostate cancer and PCR focuses on closing those gaps in prostate cancer research.

Dr. Li’s research interests include reducing prostate cancer disparities via novel targeted therapy, investigating the molecular alternations contributing to the higher morbidity and mortality rates of prostate cancer in African Americans, unveiling the molecular mechanisms underlying chemoresistance, and developing novel therapeutics to overcome prostate cancer chemoresistance.
In the PCR Seed Award project, Dr. Li and her team will investigate the role of S phase kinase-associated protein 1 (Skp1)-Cullin1 (Cul1)-F-Box protein (FBP) ubiquitin ligase complexes (SCF) in therapeutic resistance and prostate cancer health disparities, and test the efficacy of a novel SCF complex-targeting compound (GH501) using preclinical models of African American prostate cancer, with a goal of combating therapeutic-resistant prostate cancer and improving the clinical outcomes in African American patients. The PCR Seed Award will allow Dr. Li’s team to further explore the biology of prostate cancer health disparities and accumulate preliminary results for additional funding.

For more details can be found the PCR webpage at https://pcrus.org/project/tackling-therapeutic-resistance-in-prostate-cancer-disparities/