About Our Research

The overall goal of our translational research program in the field of experimental therapeutics is to develop novel drugs and pharmacologically-driven strategies for improving the treatment of cancer patients. We use biochemical, molecular and genetic techniques to develop drugs that target tumor stem cells. These are the cells that are critical to continued tumor proliferation, metastasis, resistance and recurrence. Our primary focus is on the use of naturally-occurring protein that bind to receptors on tumor stem cells to carry cargoes that either kill tumor cells directly or make them sensitive to other drugs or immunotherapeutics. We are advancing two such drugs pre-clinical development. We use molecular cloning techniques to produce novel protein drugs at the Moores Cancer Center and test then against human tumor cell lines in vitro and xenograft models in mice. We generate the efficacy, preliminary toxicology and pharmacokinetic data that will support pre-IND meeting with the FDA. We also investigate the mechanisms by which tumor stem cells become resistant to cancer therapeutics and how this process can be interdicted. The Howell Lab is a component of the Solid Tumor Therapeutics Program and participates in the Cancer Therapeutics Training Program at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.