Timothy Marlowe

Clinical and Translational Oncology Program

Biography

Dr. Marlowe directs a drug discovery laboratory at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, Cancer Center, and College of Pharmacy, where his main focus is the discovery of novel peptides and small molecules that target Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK). He is Chief Scientific Officer of biotech company FAKnostics, LLC, focused on FAK diagnostics & therapeutics. He is also Director of the Molecular Discovery Core (MDC) facility, accelerating discovery of drugs and chemical probes against multiple targets. Dr. Marlowe received his Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology & Cancer Therapeutics from Roswell Park Cancer Institute and B.S. in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Cancer Focus

Dr. Marlowe's laboratory primarily investigates the cancer drug target focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the mechanisms by which cancer cells depend on FAK signaling for tumor growth, survival, invasion, and metastasis. His research is focused on: 1) structure-based discovery of novel FAK inhibitors, 2) synthesis of peptides and small molecules, and 3) biological mechanisms of the FAK pathway. Most recently, his lab has identified a series of cyclic peptide-based drug candidates that inactivate the focal adhesion targeting (FAT) domain, the protein domain of FAK that regulates the focal adhesion complex and FAK localization. These promising molecules have shown efficacy in pre-clinical melanoma models and are under current development.