Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Health Sciences Center
The University of New Mexico
Dr. Thompson has disclosed three inventions to STC and received two UNM-affiliated issued U. S. patents for his cancer treatment technologies.
Cancer treatment technologies developed by Dr. Thompson include methods and compounds that modulate autophagy (i.e., recycling of cellular components) in cancer cells. The screening assay he developed, using high-throughput flow cytometry, has identified and tested off-patent drugs as part of the drug repurposing program at UNM’s Center for Molecular Discovery. The compounds found through these screens increase intracellular granularity associated with autophagy and decrease the cellular adherence of cancer cells, inhibiting proliferation and leading to cancer cell death. New drug candidates for the treatment of prostate cancer, melanoma, and other cancers have been identified using these methods.
Dr. Thompson’s scientific expertise is in molecular and cellular carcinogenesis. His research is directed toward precision-based prevention and treatment interventions for a variety of cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma. A key focus of his laboratory is the investigation of molecular pathways in prostate cancer that can be targeted for cancer treatment. Human prostate cancer cells in culture, xenograft models, and transgenic mouse models of prostate cancer are used for this purpose. For example, both molecular genetics and biochemical techniques are used to examine androgen-driven pathways and androgen-independent pathways as targets for prostate cancer therapy. In collaboration with the UNM Center for Molecular Discovery, the Multifunctional Androgen Receptor Screening (MARS) assay was developed, which can rapidly detect both agonists and antagonists of the androgen receptor. Independent from his research at UNM, he has received patents (7,709,525; 8,536,219; 8,809,387; 9,440,942) to utilize chroman-derived anti-androgens for the treatment of androgen-mediated disorders, primarily for the treatment of prostate cancer.
ISSUED U. S. PATENTS (UNM-AFFILIATED)
8,835,506 Methods and Related Compositions for the Treatment of Cancer, issued September 16, 2014
9,326,974 Methods and Related Compositions for the Treatment of Cancer, issued May 3, 2016