My research is described as translational or “bench to bedside” investigation in the area of lung cancer. Projects fall into two general categories: 

1. Development and testing of blood tests for lung cancer. My interest in blood tests for lung cancer is derived perceived gaps in clinical care and management of these patients. There are currently no blood tests for lung cancer, but there is no shortage of potential applications. The most tangible application, and perhaps pressing need, is for early detection, which has been the primary focus of ongoing projects since 2002. The most promising research involves a test based on the circulating antibody response to abnormal proteins expressed by cancer. My lab has helped pioneer the principles and methodologies of autoantibody profiling for lung cancer, and continues to test and validate assays for clinical use. Other pursuits and interests in biomarkers of susceptibility and therapeutic response, using autoantibodies, functional testing and circulating tumor cells complement this work.
   
2. Vaccines for lung cancer treatment. I have two decades experience in experimental therapeutics I have been involved in multiple clinical trials with novel agents, first at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), then at Cornell Medical Center in New York, and then finally at the University of Kentucky. I have been conducting clinical vaccine trials in NSCLC since 2001 and hold the IND for both first and second-generation lung cancer vaccines developed at the University of Kentucky, and tested in a series of local and regional clinical trials. I have been the sponsor-investigator for five clinical lung cancer vaccine trials conducted at University of Kentucky, which has been one product of a long-lived collaboration with John Yannelli, PhD, from the Department of Microbiology Immunology and Molecular Genetics. My role as Pulmonary Attending Physician in the Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Clinics facilitates my responsibilities as Principle Investigator in ongoing trials.  As a physician scientist, I also see myself as being in a unique position to directly apply the information from new developments to clinical trials and patient care.

Ongoing Research Projects

Project Title: Combined Orally Administered Yeast-derived b-glucan with 1650 Tumor Vaccine in the Treatment of NSCLC
Principal Investigator(s):  Edward Hirschowitz and John Yannelli
Sponsor: Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Foundation
Period: 912/2/10-11/30/12
Description: This project utilizes a vaccine developed at the University of Kentucky and tests the additive effects of vaccine and b-glucan, an oral agent with immune modulating properties.

Project Title:  Bionanoconjugates for Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells in Lung Cancer       
Principal Investigator: Edward Hirschowitz        
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute
Period:  7/1/11 – 7/1/13      
Description: Development and testing of a novel test for circulating tumor cells as markers of disease activity and response to therapy

Project Title: Autoantibodies in NSCLC as Markers for Disease
Principal Investigator: Edward Hirschowitz        
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute
Period:   4/1/07 – 4/1/12
Description: The proposal has been focused on discovery, assay development and early validation of tumor associated autoantibodies as tumor markers.