Q&A with Min-Yu Ko: Exploring a New Drug Target for Treatment-Resistant Prostate Cancer
January 22, 2025Min-Yu Ko, a PhD student at Duke University, is studying how low levels of male androgen hormones may facilitate increased prostate tumor growth.
Prostate cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and is second only to lung cancer for cancer deaths in men in the United States. Hormone therapy to reduce levels of male androgen hormones works well as a treatment for most patients. However, many will relapse with castration-resistant prostate cancer, where tumor growth continues despite exceptionally low levels of androgens.
Min-Yu Ko, a PhD student at Duke University, received a 2024 PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Discovery for his research studying how low levels of androgens facilitate activation of specific protein, resulting in increased tumor growth. He hopes to develop drugs that exploit this protein signaling process to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth.
Watch this video to learn about Ko and his research.
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