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Department of Urology
University of Washington | School of Medicine
Department of Urology

Robert L. Vessella, PhD

Professor
Departments of Urology and Microbiology
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Education & Training

Dr. Vessella received his BA in Microbiology from the University of Connecticut in 1970, and his PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1974. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Surgery in tumor and transplantation immunology from 1974 to 1976, after which he took a faculty position at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Urology.

Research Interests

>>Genitourinary Cancer Research Laboratory

  • Biomarkers for the detection of prostate cancer and those useful in monitoring the clinical course of the disease. These include markers that are secreted or cell associated which could be helpful in predicting the aggressiveness of the tumor.
  • Developing a biospecimen infrastructure for the study of prostate cancer. These efforts have led to the development of a large serum/plasma and tissue bank that contains thousands of well documented clinical specimens, including bone and soft tissue metastases acquired through our rapid autopsy program.
  • Developing human xenograft models in immune compromised mice that mimic the clinical disease in man, including progression from androgen dependence to androgen refractory disease and growth in bone that yields the characteristic osteoblastic response.
  • The detection of prostate cancer cell dissemination into the blood and bone marrow with the isolation and characterization of these cells. Since 2002, this work has been in collaboration with investigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
  • The biology of prostate cancer dissemination and growth in bone, including the study of the bone microenvironment and factors which perturb normal bone remodeling and lead to the characteristic osteoblastic response.

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Research Projects & Funding:

Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases: Osteoblastic Response Mechanisms

PI: Robert L. Vessella
Agency: VA
Type: Merit Review, 7/1/04 – 6/30-09

The major goals of this project are as follows:

  1. to examine the effects of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) on prostate cancer cells and to elucidate the pathways involved,
  2. to determine the effects of prostate cancer expressed BMPs on osteoblast differentiation,
  3. to determine whether prostate cancer cells in the bone microenvironment influence new bone mineralization,
  4. and to elucidate the gene expression profile of prostate cancer bone metastases with a focus on revealing the co-expression of skeletal genes and genes involved in bone remodeling not previously known to be expressed by prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Research

PI: Robert L. Vessella and Paul H. Lange
Type: Richard M. Lucas Foundation, 7/1/1988 – 6/30/2006

The Lucas Foundation has been an annual donor to our prostate cancer program for the past 18 years. These funds, donated to the Department of Urology at the University of Washington, are unrestricted and have often been used to fund seed projects. For example, the Lucas funds were the primary support for the generation of the nearly two dozen LuCaP prostate cancer xenograft models which are being used by investigators world-wide. In addition, the Lucas Foundation funds have supported several postdoctoral fellows.

Mechanisms and Markers of Prostate Cancer Metastases Project 2: CaP Growth in Bone and the Dysregulation of Bone Remodeling, Co-Director

PI: Paul H. Lange
Robert L. Vessella is co-PI and Core A director.
Agency: NIH/NIDDK, 5/1/02 – 4/30/07
1 PO1 CA85859-04

The major goal of this project is to lead to enhanced understanding of the dysregulation of bone remodeling which accompanies CaP bone metastasis, and has the potential to identify new targets and pathways for therapeutic intervention.

Core A: Tissues/Sera/Models, Director

The major function of this core is to provide infrastructural support as follows:

  1. Specimen acquisition, processing, storage and accession,
  2. RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization services,
  3. PSA and other immunoassay services,
  4. tissue culture services,
  5. CaP and control xenograft maintenance plus perform all pre-clinical xenograft studies.

Core C: Administrative Core, Co-Director

The major goal of this core is to provide statistical, financial, communications and personnel management for the entire program project grant.

Pacific Northwest Prostate Cancer SPORE

PI: Paul H. Lange
Robert L. Vessella is the Project Leader of Project 2 and Director of Core B
Agency: NIH/NCI, 9/19/02 – 4/30/07
1 P50 CA97186-04

Project 2

Genomic and Gene Expression Profiling of Disseminated Prostate Cancer, Project Director

The major goals of this project are to study phenotypic and genomic expression patterns in disseminated prostate cancer cells isolated from the bone marrow of patients prior to radical prostatectomy, during follow-up and in advanced disease.

Core B

Specimen Core, Core Leader

The Specimen Core provides part of the infrastructure support for Projects 1-4, as well as future pilot and developmental projects. It has been designed to meet the needs of these projects plus serve as a stand-alone system of specimen collection, storage, distribution and related clinical/research information dissemination that is based on over two decades of experience. There is consistency and quality assurance in the pathological distribution based upon the priorities defined by a panel of investigators familiar with all of our SPORE research endeavors. The Core also has established and maintains nearly 2 dozen novel prostate cancer xenografts for pre-clinical studies desired by the Project leaders.

Development of Reagents for Labeling with At-211

PI: Scott Wilbur
Robert L. Vessella is a co-investigator
Agency: Department of Energy, 3/1/05 – 2/29/08

The major goal of this project is to obtain at least one 211At binding moiety (pendant group) which when conjugated to a cancer targeting biomolecule is stable to in vivo deastatination, and has a minimal effect on the pharmacokinetics and cancer targeting of that biomolecule. As Co-Investigator, Dr. Vessella will design and interpret results of the pre-clinical xenograft studies performed by his personnel.

Longitudinal Cancer-specific Serum Protein Signatures

PI: Brian Haab
Robert L. Vessella is a collaborator on this grant and PI of the subcontract.
Agency: Van Andel Research Institute, 10/10/04 – 10/10/09

The major goal of this study is to help prostate cancer patients through more sensitive, specific and informative prostate cancer serum diagnostics.

Therapy of Prostate Cancer Using a Human Antibody Targeting the Type 1 Insulin-like Growth Factor Receptor

PI: Stephen R. Plymate Agency: Department of Defense, 1/1/06 – 12/31/06

The major goals of this study are to

  1. determine if anti-IgF-IR treatment can prolong the time to AI disease after castration, and
  2. if anti-IGF-IR treatment is effective at altering progression of prostate cancer that has metastasized to bone. The results of this therapy proposal will direct our future clinical trials with anti-IGF-IR antibody. As Co-Investigator, Dr. Vessella will design and interpret results of the animal studies.

Exploration of the Prostate Cancer Lethal Phenotype – A Consortium Approach

PI: Jonathan Simon, Emory University
Robert Vessella is the “captain” of Team 1 which includes 6 investigators nationwide
Agency: Department of Defense, 4/1/03 – 3/31/07

This is a novel approach in that it involves a consortium of approximately 20 investigators across the country who are engaged in teams to address various aspects of the prostate cancer lethal phenotype. These teams address aspects such as signal transduction, metastatic bone disease, and clinical trials. Team 1 encompasses the metastatic bone disease group which focuses on factors which contribute to metastases to bone, those that perturb the normal bone remodeling process and lead to the classical osteoblastic response and the modeling of these processes through xenograft pre-clinical models.

Industry Funding

Dr. Vessella has 12 active research funding agreements with biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

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Affiliations

  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • American Urological Association
  • Society of Basic Urology Research
  • International Bone and Mineral Society

Selected Publications:

Sun X, Chen C, Vessella RL, Dong JT. Microsatellite instability and mismatch repair target gene mutations in cell lines and xenografts of prostate cancer. Prostate. 2006 May 1;66(6):660-6.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Saramaki OR, Tammela TL, Martikainen PM, Vessella RL, Visakorpi T. The gene for polycomb group protein enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is amplified in late-stage prostate cancer. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2006 Mar 30.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Brubaker KD, Brown LG, Vessella RL, Corey E. Administration of zoledronic acid enhances the effects of docetaxel on growth of prostate cancer in the bone environment. BMC Cancer. 2006 Jan 17; 6:15.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Goo YA, Goodlett DR, Pascal LE, Worthington KD, Vessella RL, True LD, Liu AY. Stromal mesenchyme cell genes of the human prostate and bladder. BMC Urol. 2005 Dec 12;5:17.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Rocchi P, Beraldi E, Ettinger S, Fazli L, Vessella RL, Nelson C, Gleave M. Increased Hsp27 after androgen ablation facilitates androgen-independent progression in prostate cancer via signal transducers and activators of transcription 3- mediated suppression of apoptosis. Cancer Res. 2005; 65(23):11083-93.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Koochekpour S, Zhuang YJ, Beroukhim R, Hsieh CL, Hofer MD, Zhau HE, Hiraiwa M, Pattan DY, Ware JL, Luftig RB, Sandhoff K, Sawyers CL, Pienta KJ, Rubin MA, Vessella RL, Sellers WR, Sartor O. Amplification and overexpression of prosaposin in prostate cancer. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2005 Dec;44(4):351-64.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Oudes AJ, Roach JC, Walashek LS, Eichner LJ, True LD, Vessella RL, Liu AY. Application of Affymetrix array and Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing for identification of genes involved in prostate cancer progression. BMC Cancer. 2005; 5:86.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Stangelberger A, Schally AV, Letsch M, Szepeshazi K, Nagy A, Halmos G, Kanashiro CA, Corey E, Vessella R. Targeted chemotherapy with cytotoxic bombesin analogue AN-215 inhibits growth of experimental human prostate cancers. Int J Cancer. 2006 Jan 1;118(1):222-9.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Quinn JE, Brown LG, Zhang J, Keller ET, Vessella RL, Corey E. Comparison of Fc-osteoprotegerin and zoledronic acid activities suggests that zoledronic acid inhibits prostate cancer in bone by indirect mechanisms. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2005; 8(3):253-9.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Montgomery RB, Bonham M, Nelson PS, Grim J, Makary E, Vessella R, Stahl WL. Estrogen effects on tubulin expression and taxane mediated cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cells. Prostate. 2005 Oct 1;65(2):141-50.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

The following link will appear in a new window.View full PubMed list of articles

Curriculum Vitae [240K PDF*]

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Portrait of Dr. Robert L. Vessella

Contact Information:

University of Washington Medical Center
Box 356510
1959 N.E. Pacific
Seattle, WA 98195-6510