Professor of Nanomedicine, Academic Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College
Dr. Bulent Ozpolat earned his PhD in Immunology from the University of Texas- Houston- MD Anderson Cancer Center, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), under the guidance of Lawrence Lachman. Prior to this, he obtained his M.D. degree from Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey. His doctoral work concentrated on DNA-vaccines against HIV, Helicobacter Pylori, and HER2+ breast cancer, employing immunoliposomes with adjuvants and interleukins. Following his PhD, he underwent postdoctoral training at MD Anderson and later served 15 years as faculty in Experimental Therapeutics.
With over 135 peer-reviewed publications, he has received numerous research awards and holds patents. Supported by funding from NIH/NCI, US Congressionally Directed Medical Research & Department of Defense, Susan Komen, NHARP, CPRIT, and Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program, he also contributes as an editor and board member for scientific journals.
Dr. Ozpolat's research emphasizes developing targeted cancer therapies like small molecule inhibitors and microRNA-based nanotherapeutics, using tumor-targeting nanocarriers for delivering various agents. He explores novel molecular targets, non-coding RNAs, and immune therapies for solid cancers, including breast, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, and brain tumors. Notably, his work involves nanocarriers targeting survival pathways like eEF2-kinase (eEF2K), FOXM1, KRAS, and immunosuppressive pathways like PDL1 signaling.
