Research Program and Theme
- Program: Cancer Engineering and Biological Systems
- Theme: Comparative and Engineering Oncology Models
Research Focus
Timothy Fan laboratory works closely with other basic scientists to evaluate novel drugs and drug delivery strategies for cancer treatment. He has conducted preclinical murine tumor research for over 15 years and facilitated the development of novel drugs and drug delivery strategies for improving cancer therapy. Fan has worked closely with multiple scientific researchers involved in basic and translational cancer investigations, including long-term collaborator Paul Hergenrother, over the past 12 years. Fan has leveraged companion animals as informative tumor model systems to expedite novel drug development, such as the first procaspase-3 activator, PAC-1, which has now successfully advanced to human clinical trials. Fan’s unique training as a scientist and veterinarian allows him to rapidly investigate and translate novel treatment strategies in dogs with spontaneously arising cancers and conduct meaningful comparative oncology research, which may eventually aid in treating cancer in companion animals and human beings.
Other Campus Affiliations
- Assistant Head, Research and Graduate Studies, Veterinary Clinical Medicine
- Director, Veterinary Clinical Trials Center, Veterinary Clinical Medicine
- Professor, Veterinary Clinical Medicine
- Professor, Veterinary Teaching Hospital
- Professor, Pathobiology
- Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
- Professor, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
- Associate Director for Development and Translation, Cancer Center at Illinois, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
- Program Leader, Cancer Center at Illinois, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
- Adjunct Professor, Comparative Biosciences