Biography
Dr. Mehdi Mollapour is a Professor, Vice Chair for Translational Research and Director of Kidney Cancer Program for the Department of Urology, and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical University. He is also a non-Clinical Investigator at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
After receiving his PhD in Biochemistry from the University College London (UCL), UK, Dr. Mollapour completed his post-doctoral research at the University of Sheffield, UK. He is also trained as a research fellow at the Urologic Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH.
Dr. Mollapour previously received the Federation of European Societies (FEBS) fellowship and the First Ferruccio Ritossa Career Award from Cell Stress Society International. He was the Investigator of the Society for Basic Urological Research (SBUR) in 2017. Dr Mollapour is a Research Scholar of the Urology Care Foundation and the American Urological Association (AUA), as well as the Fellow of Cell Stress Society International. He is the President of the Cell Stress Society International.
Dr. Mollapour has published more than 100-scientific papers, reviews and book chapters. He is widely recognized for his research on post-translation regulation of the molecular chaperone Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) in cancer. His work demonstrated how reversible biochemical reactions can become directional and ordered, and in general, how a house-keeping machine (Hsp90) can be modulated through signaling inputs. Mollapour’s finding on post-translational modifications of the Hsp90 chaperone machinery has also explained the reasons for tumors sensitivity and selectivity towards the Hsp90 inhibitors.
Dr. Mollapour is a dedicated kidney cancer patient advocate whose lab focuses on developing and evaluating treatments for the most common type of kidney cancer, clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. Some of the therapies developed in his lab have also demonstrated effectiveness in treating breast and bladder cancers. In addition, he is also actively researching Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) syndromes, both of which increase the risk of rare kidney cancers. His lab made significant discoveries regarding the tumor suppressor proteins TSC1 and FLCN, identifying TSC1 as a regulator of the molecular chaperone Hsp90, and FLCN as an intracellular inhibitor of lactate dehydrogenase-A (LDHA). Dr Mollapour's research is supported by funds from NIH, NCI, DoD & VA.
Susan Kahn Photography