# Molecular mechanisms driving therapy-induced lineage plasticity

> **NIH NIH R50** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2024 · $160,725

## Abstract

SUMMARY
This proposal seeks Dr. Juan Francisco Linares’s salary as a Research Specialist to support Dr. Maria T.
Diaz-Meco’s research program at the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate lineage plasticity in prostate cancer. The
elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that castration-resistant prostate cancer cells (CRPC) use to evade
therapeutic pressures requires scientists with an in-depth understanding of the molecular biology of this process,
but also with the required technical expertise in in vivo mouse models that faithfully recapitulate human disease,
as well as the necessary bioinformatics tools to perform rigorously epigenetic analysis. Therefore, with this
Research Specialist Award, we intend to provide stable research opportunities for the exceptional scientist Juan
Francisco Linares to develop impactful research in this area of expertise. He has made seminal contributions in
signaling, inflammation, metabolism, and cancer and has solid interdisciplinary training that will be critical for the
project’s success. He will contribute to the research program focused on defining the molecular and cellular
mechanisms that drive the differentiation of CRPC to more aggressive prostate cancer variants, such as
Neuroendocrine and Mesenchymal prostate cancer. With his expertise in cancer biology and cancer metabolism
and his capacity to apply novel mouse models and bioinformatics approaches, he is filling a unique niche within
the Diaz-Meco lab that will provide continuity, stability, and detailed scientific knowledge to achieve the aims of
the NCI-funded grants. Dr. Linares’s long-time expertise and dedication will advance our understanding of the
lineage plasticity in CRPC to help design more effective therapies to overcome the acquired resistance in
prostate cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10931650
- **Project number:** 5R50CA283476-02
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Juan Francisco Linares Rodriguez
- **Activity code:** R50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $160,725
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-19 → 2028-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10931650

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10931650, Molecular mechanisms driving therapy-induced lineage plasticity (5R50CA283476-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10931650. Licensed CC0.

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