David P. Labbé

Research areas: Surgical Outcomes and Quality; Regenerative Medicine; Surgical Oncology; Precision Health Current research: Systemic metabolic alterations associated with increased consumption of saturated fat and obesity are linked with increased risk of prostate cancer progression and mortality, However, the molecular underpinnings of this association are poorly understood. My research program aims to understand the combination of key tumour genetic alterations together with the host characteristics required for diet to alter prostate cancer progression. This will allow the identification of new therapeutic targets and the elaboration of novel therapeutic approaches devised to treat prostate cancer patients at risk of progression to an aggressive, lethal disease. More specifically, my research focuses on the mechanisms and therapeutic targets related to epigenetic alterations, using murine and human cell lines, animal models (including genetically engineered mouse models) and human tissues. Areas of interest: Impact of diet-induced obesity on prostate cancer chromatin remodeling. Role of diet in mediating prostate cancer genomic instability. Identification of key epigenetic-related genes responsible for prostate cancer aggressiveness. Clinical Interests: Prostate cancer; Nutrition/diet