Faris Farassati

FARIS FARASSATI, PHD, PHARMD: Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Medicine-Molecular Medicine Laboratory The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA Tel: (913)945-6823, Fax: (913)945-6923, E-mail: ffarassati@kumc.edu RESEARCH FOCUS: Dr. Farassati was trained as a Molecular Oncologist and Cancer Gene Therapist at the University of Calgary, Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic. His Research is mainly focused on understanding the features of pro-oncogenic cell signaling events in cancer cells and utilizing this knowledge to design gene and drug therapy strategies to target them. He currently directs the Molecular Medicine Laboratory at the University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, KS, USA) where a group of clinicians and scientists study a range of human malignancies including brain tumors in adults and children under his leadership. Concepts pursued by this team to target brain tumors include gene therapy strategies using oncolytic viruses, identification and intervention with novel cell signaling pathways involved in generation of brain malignancies and designing gene therapy strategies to target cancer stem cells. EDUCATION: 1987-1994: PharmD: Tabriz Medical Sciences University, Tabriz, Iran-School of Pharmacy. 1997-2002: PhD: The University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada- Department of Microbiology, Cancer Biology Research Group. 2002-2003: Post-doctoral Fellowship: Harvard Medical School-Massachusetts General Hospital East-Department of Neurosurgery-Molecular Neurosurgery Laboratory 2003-2004: Post-doctoral Fellowship: Mayo Clinic Rochester-Department of Neurosurgery