Jian Cao, MD

Jian Cao, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathology
Life Sciences Building, Rm 004
Stony Brook Medicine
Stony Brook, NY 11794-5200

(631) 632-1815 (Office)
(631) 632-1816 (Lab)
Email:  jian.cao@stonybrookmedicine.edu

Research Statement:
The major cause of death from cancer is metastases that are resistant to conventional therapies. Better understanding of this process will provide the framework for development of drugs to prevent cancer dissemination.  Dr. CAO'S LAB is interested in the biology and prevention of cancer metastasis. Recognizing that invasiveness is an early critical step for cancer metastasis, Dr. Cao’s lab has been focused on understanding the mechanism of cancer invasion and on developing a new screening approach for anti-cancer drug discovery. The current research interests in Dr. Cao’s lab lie in three broad areas of cancer invasion: 1) to better understand the mechanism of proteases, especially matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in cancer cell invasion; 2) to characterize a novel gene, which is upregulated in various human cancers, in cell migration and invasion; and 3) to develop a three-dimension (3D) high-throughput screening (HTS) assay for anti-cancer drug discovery. These scientific areas act as the three sides of a triangle constantly challenging our understanding of cancer pathobiology. Our long-term goal is to better understand early cancer metastasis and develop inhibitors to prevent cancer dissemination.