Prakash Kulkarni, Ph.D.

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Prakash Kulkarni Profile Headshot
Research Professor and Director of Translational Research , Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
Appointments
Research Professor, Department of Systems Biology
Research Teams
Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
Prakash Kulkarni, Ph.D., is currently a research professor in the Department of Medical Oncology Therapeutics Research at City of Hope in Duarte, California. Dr. Kulkarni obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from India and did his postdoctoral training in cell biology at New York University.
 
Subsequently, he held staff scientist positions in the Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, as well as in the Division of Biology, at California Institute of Technology, and later, in the Department of Genetics at Yale University. Dr. Kulkarni began his independent academic career as an assistant professor of urology and oncology in the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins University where he was named the Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Scholar of the Patrick C Walsh Prostate Research Fund.
 
He then moved as research associate professor to the Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology Research at University of Maryland before he moved to City of Hope. Dr. Kulkarni is an editorial board member of several journals and also is the associate editor-in-chief of Biomolecules. In addition, he is a member of the Organizing Committee of International Meetings, and serves as a scientific expert to various government and philanthropic organizations in the U.S., Europe and Australia. In addition to cancer biology, he maintains a strong interest in prostate cancer, as well as other solid tumors.

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees

  • 1983, Ph.D., Biochemistry, Mangalore University, India

  • 1978, Masters of Science, Comparative Endocrinology, Karnatak University, India

  • 1976, Bachelors of Science, Zoology, Chemistry, Biology, Karnatak University, India

Fellowship

  • 1985, Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York

Professional Experience

  • 2017-Present, Research Professor, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research, City of Hope, Duarte, CA

  • 2014-2017, Research Associate Professor, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD

  • 2009-2013, Assistant Professor of Urology, James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, and Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

  • 2007-2009, Assistant Professor, Urology, James Buchanan Brady Urological institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

  • 1996-2007, Group Leader, Scientific Director and Vice President, biotech industry, MD

  • 1993-1996, Staff Scientist, Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

  • 1993-1993, Staff Scientist, Division of Biology, California Institute of Pasadena, CA

  • 1989-1993, Staff Scientist, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Pasadena, CA

  • 1987-1989, Research Assistant Professor, Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, NY, NY

  • 1985-1987, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, NY, NY

  • 1982-1984, Research Associate, Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2015, Member, Organizing Committee 4th International Conference on Tissue Science and Regenerative Medicine, Rome, Italy

  • 2014, Member, Organizing Committee and Chair, Special Session, ‘Systems Biology of Stem Cells’ 3rd International Conference on Tissue Science and Regenerative Medicine, Valencia, Spain

  • 2013, Visiting Professor, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

  • 2010, Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Scholar of the Patrick C Walsh Prostate Cancer Research Fund

  • 1985, Fulbright Fellowship

  • 1980, UGC Research Fellowship

Memberships

  • Editorial Board Member, American Journal of Clinical & Experimental Urology

  • Editorial Board Member, Asian Journal of Andrology

  • Editorial Board Member, Biomarker Research

  • Editorial Board Member, Cell Biology and Toxicology

  • Editorial Board Member, Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Diseases

  • Member, American Association for Cancer Research

  • Member, Biophysical Society

  • Member, Society for Basic Urological Research

Publications

Salgia R, Jolly MK, Dorff T, Lau C, Weninger K, Orban J, Kulkarni P. Prostate-Associated Gene 4 (PAGE4): Leveraging the Conformational Dynamics of a Dancing Protein Cloud as a Therapeutic Target. J Clin Med. 2018 7(6). pii: E156. PMID: 29914187
 
Lin X, Roy S, Jolly MK, Bocci F, Schafer NP, Tsai MY, Chen Y, He Y, Grishaev A, Weninger K, Orban J, Kulkarni P, Rangarajan G, Levine H, Onuchic JN. PAGE4 and conformational switching: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations and implications for prostate cancer. J Mol Biol. 2018 430(16):2422-2438. PMID: 29758263
 
Kulkarni P, Jolly MK, Jia D, Mooney SM, Bhargava A, Kagohara LT, Chen Y, Hao P, He Y, Veltri RW, Grishaev A, Weninger K, Levine H, Orban J. Phosphorylation-induced conformational dynamics in an intrinsically disordered protein and potential role in phenotypic heterogeneity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017 114(13):E2644-E2653 PMID: 28289210
 
He Y, Chen Y, Mooney SM, Rajagopalan K, Bhargava A, Sacho E, Weninger K, Bryan PN, Kulkarni P, Orban J. Phosphorylation-induced conformational ensemble switching in an intrinsically disordered Cancer/Testis Antigen. J Biol Chem. 2015 290(41):25090-102. PMID: 26242913
 
Jolly MK, Kulkarni P, Weninger K, Orban J, Levine H. Phenotypic plasticity, bet-hedging, and androgen independence in prostate cancer: Role of non-genetic heterogeneity. Front Oncol. 2018 8:50. PMID: 29560343
 
Jia D, Jolly MK, Kulkarni P, Levine H. Phenotypic Plasticity and Cell Fate Decisions in Cancer: Insights from Dynamical Systems Theory. Cancers (Basel). 2017 9(7). pii: E70. PMID: 28640191
 
Mooney SM, Jolly MK, Levine H, Kulkarni P. Phenotypic plasticity in prostate cancer: role of intrinsically disordered proteins. Asian J Androl. 2016 18(5):704-10. PMID: 27427552
 
Mahmoudabadi G, Rajagopalan K, Getzenberg RH, Hannenhalli S, Rangarajan G, Kulkarni P. Intrinsically disordered proteins and conformational noise: implications in cancer. Cell Cycle. 2013 12(1):26-31. PMID: 23255110
 
Kulkarni P, Uversky VN. Cancer/Testis Antigens: "smart" biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of prostate and other cancers. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 18(4). pii: E740. PMID: 28362316
 
Kim R, Kulkarni P, Hannenhalli S. Derepression of Cancer/testis antigens in cancer is associated with distinct patterns of DNA hypomethylation. BMC Cancer. 2013 13:144. PMID: 23522060
 
Kulkarni P, Shiraishi T, Rajagopalan K, Kim R, Mooney SM, Getzenberg RH. Cancer/testis antigens and urological malignancies. Nat Rev Urol. 2012 9(7):386-96. PMID: 22710665
 
Rajagopalan K, Mooney SM, Parekh N, Getzenberg RH, Kulkarni P. A majority of the cancer/testis antigens are intrinsically disordered proteins. J Cell Biochem. 2011 112(11):3256-67. PMID: 21748782
 
Kulkarni P, Getzenberg RH. Disorder, promiscuous interactions, and stochasticity regulate state switching in the unstable prostate. J Cell Biochem. 2016 117(10):2235-40. doi: 10.1002/jcb.25578. Epub 2016 Jun 3. Review. PMID: 27152744
 
Sakamoto S, Yokoyama M, Zhang X, Prakash K, Nagao K, Hatanaka T, Getzenberg RH, Kakehi Y (2004). Increased expression of CYR61, an extracellular matrix signaling protein, in human benign prostatic hyperplasia and its regulation by lysophosphatidic acid. Endocrinology. 145(6):2929-40. PMID: 14988385
 
Kakehi Y, Segawa T, Wu XX, Kulkarni P, Dhir R, Getzenberg RH (2004). Down-regulation of macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1/prostate derived factor in benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostate. 59(4):351-6. PMID: 15065082
 
Prakash K, Pirozzi G, Elashoff M, Munger W, Waga I, Dhir R, Kakehi Y, Getzenberg RH (2002). Symptomatic and asymptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia: molecular differentiation by using microarrays. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 99(11):7598-603. PMID: 12032329