Urology

Our Team

Our Researchers

William Ricke, Ph.D.

Research Overview

The main goal of Dr. Ricke’s laboratory is to find ways to cure or prevent cancer. His research involves a combination of cell biology, molecular biology, pharmacology, and whole animal techniques. Currently, he is working to discover the molecular mechanisms that underlie the development and spread of cancer. Specifically, he is developing models of human cancer progression that show how benign (non-cancerous) cells use compounds found naturally in the body to stimulate their development into malignant (cancer) cells.

Most organs consist of two main types of cells: epithelial (functional) cells and stromal (supporting) cells. In most solid cancers, epithelial cells grow uncontrollably; if this growth isn’t stopped, the patient dies. Until recently, stromal cells were thought to play a minimal role in cancer progression. Now we know they actually play a significant role.  Moreover, stromal cells may be an important therapeutic target. 

Dr. Ricke’s lab has recently developed a new model of cancer development that focuses on the interactions of stromal and epithelial cells as they progress to malignancy. Using this model, they can effectively alter the genetics in these cells and then evaluate how that affects carcinogenesis (the development of cancer). Additionally, they can effectively target these mechanisms associated with the disease within animal models. Dr. Ricke believes that understanding how epithelial and stromal cells communicate during cancer progression and then manipulating this communication will lead to new ways to prevent and/or cure cancer.

His lab is currently working in four areas of cancer research:

1. The role of sex hormones in prostate cancer progression
2. Evaluation of clinical and experimental therapeutics in prostate cancer
3. Investigation of tissue micro-environmental factors in cancer progression
4. The role of stem cells in normal growth and malignancies

Faculty Title

Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Oncology, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center

Education

University of California, San Francisco, CA, Post Doctoral Fellow, Carcinogenesis, 2005
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Doctor of Philosophy, Reproductive Biology, 2000
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, Master of Science, Reproductive Physiology, 1995
Iowa State University, Ames, IA, Bachelors of Science, Animal Science, 1993

Contact Information

University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry
601 Elmwood Ave, Box 656
Rochester, New York 14642
Medical Center Room #: 1-5701A
Phone: (585) 273-3993

Email: william_ricke@urmc.rochester.edu