Steffan Nawrocki, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Co-Leader of the Clinical and Translational Oncology Program (CTOP) at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Nawrocki is also the Director of Research for the Department of Urology. He received his doctoral degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and conducted his postdoctoral fellowship in experimental cancer therapeutics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The major focus of Dr. Nawrocki’s laboratory is the evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of action of novel experimental cancer therapeutics with an emphasis on targeting protein degradation. He has received several prestigious honors including awards from the International Myeloma Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Voelcker Foundation.

Cancer Focus

Dr. Nawrocki’s laboratory focuses on the investigation of the mechanisms of action of experimental anticancer agents and approaches to enhance cancer cell death and overcome drug resistance. He has extensive expertise studying novel therapeutic agents that target protein degradation pathways including proteasome inhibitors, autophagy inhibitors, and therapies that induce endoplasmic reticular stress. Notably, his research has provided the groundwork for multiple clinical studies exploring strategies that target protein turnover for cancer therapy. Dr. Nawrocki’s current research interests include investigation of autophagy and its regulation of drug resistance, mechanisms of action of oncolytic virus therapy, and the evaluation of novel therapeutic targets.