Trained as an urologist, after finishing my residency in my home country of Paraguay I undertook at a two-year research fellowship in Jayanand decided to become a research scientist. My initial training was in molecular biology more specifically in prostate cancer disease. Then I moved to Dr. Simon Hayward’s laboratory at Vanderbilt where my interest shifted to the tumor microenvironment. It was in Dr. Hayward’s lab that I learned to properly isolate and characterize carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) from human samples using in vitro and in vivo models. Although my projects centered mainly in prostate disease, I was also involved in the isolation and characterization of human fibroblasts from bladder cancer, breast cancer and other solid tumors. It was in Dr. Hayward’s lab that I also gained experience in tissue recombination and renal xenografting of prostate epithelial and stromal cells. Proper identification of pro-tumorigenic CAF vs non-tumorigenic prostate fibroblasts it is done using the in vivo approach. I have successfully collaborated with many groups rendering several peer[1]reviewed publications in the area of tumor microenvironment (TME). My studies on stromal-tumor paracrine signaling indicated that chemokines (TGFß and SDF1) secreted by CAF play a critical role in the transformation of initiated prostate epithelial cells. My current independent position at NorthShore HealthSystem University in the Chicago area has allowed me to continue to expand my research to study stromal drivers of prostate cancer progression using a pool of newly isolated primary prostate carcinoma associated fibroblasts from different ethnicities. Since my move I have been started new collaborations with two NorthShore groups interested in Personalized Medicine through the studies of genomic alterations in and risk associations to malignant disease. In addition my collaboration with Dr Vander Griend at the University of Illinois rendered a recent report highlighting the important contribution of the TME in health disparity. It is in this area of health disparity, genomics and cancer that the focus of my research centers. In this application I will be particularly involved in the planning and execution of the experimental approaches proposed. I will over see the work of the team and troubleshoot potential technical problems. My expertise in the area of tumor microenvironment, more specifically in carcinoma associated fibroblasts will be very important for the proper evaluation of the experimental results proposed in this aim.
Publications related to my experience for this proposal:
1. Gillard M, Javier R, Ji Y, Zheng SL, Xu J, Brendler CB, Crawford SE, Pierce B, Vander Griend DJ, Franco OE. Elevated Stromal Inflammatory Mediators Promote Prostate Cancer Progression in African American Men. Cancer Res. 2018 Sep 4. pii: canres.3810.2017. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17- 3810. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30181178.
2. Nardi F, Fitchev P, Franco OE, Ivanisevic J, Scheibler A, Hayward SW, Brendler CB, Welte MA, Crawford SE. PEDF regulates plasticity of a novel lipid-MTOC axis in prostate cancer-associated fibroblasts. J Cell Sci.2018 Jul 11;131(13). pii: jcs213579. doi: 10.1242/jcs.213579. PubMed PMID:29792311; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6051346.
3. Franco, O.E. and Hayward, S.W. (2012) Targeting the tumorstroma as a novel therapeutic approach for prostate cancer. Adv. Pharmacol. 65,267-313.
4. Franco, O.E., Jiang, M., Strand, D.W., Peacock, J.,Fernandez, S., Jackson, R.S., Revelo, M.P., Bhowmick, N.A., Hayward, S.W.[2011] Altered TGF-ß signaling in a sub-population of human stromal cellspromotes prostatic carcinogenesis. Cancer Res 71, 1272-81
ORCID:0000-0002-0673-9506My
NCBI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/omar.franco%20coronel.1/bibliography/public/
