Dr. Shahriar Koochekpour joined the staff of the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville as a Professor of Urology, Associate Director of Education and Research, and Urology Program coordinator in 2019.

Koochekpour graduated in 1990 with an MD degree from the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran. This was followed followed by a residency in anatomical/surgical pathology. Koochekpour then went on to obtain his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular oncology from the GKT School of Medical Education in King's College London.

He continued his postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute's Advanced Bioscience Laboratories, Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center in Frederick, Maryland, followed by additional postdoctoral training at the departments of urology, biochemistry and molecular biology and immunology at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.

Koochekpour has comprehensive training and experience in cellular and molecular biology of cancer, analyzing gene expression and functions, oncogenes and tumor suppressors, genetics, health disparity research and translational prostate cancer research.

Research Interests

• Identifying biological factors and molecular mechanisms responsible for disparities at presentation, aggressiveness and progression, treatment, and outcome in African-American men affected by prostate cancer
• Identifying soluble, genetic or epigenetic biomarkers of prostate cancer aggressiveness and progression in prostate cancer disparity research
• Establishing and characterizing African American prostate cancer Patients Derived Xenografts (AAPC-PDXs)
• Elucidating biological mechanisms underlying androgen receptor (AR)-dependent signaling and androgen-independent / castration recurrent progression of prostate cancer
• Defining the clinicohistopathological significance of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), androgen receptor-splice variant 7 (AR-v7), tissue and serum-Lactate Dehydrogenase (i.e., LDH5, LDHA), and metabotropic glutamate receptors in prostate carcinogenesis and its androgen-independent or metastatic progression
• Molecular targeted therapy for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer
• Investigating the role and contribution of GR in Neuro-Endocrine differentiation in NEPC
• Developing methods for reduction/inhibition of AR and AR-v7 expression in metastatic and/or CRPC
• Developing Biospecimen-Biorepository prostate cancer tissue core

Selected Publications (Since 2016)

1. Pathology grade influences competing mortality risks in elderly men with prostate cancer. Alam MU, Kumar J, Norez D, Tanneru K, Jazayeri SB, Bazargani S, Costa J, Bandyk M, Ganapathi HP, Koochekpour S, Gautam S, Balaji KC.Urol Oncol. 2021 Aug;39(8):493.e1-493.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2020.12.004. Epub 2021 Jan 19.PMID: 33353870
2. Comparative efficacy of apalutamide darolutamide and enzalutamide for treatment of non-metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Kumar J, Jazayeri SB, Gautam S, Norez D, Alam MU, Tanneru K, Bazargani S, Costa J, Bandyk M, Ganapathi HP, Koochekpour S, Balaji KC.Urol Oncol. 2020 Nov;38(11):826-834. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2020.03.022. Epub 2020 Jun 28.PMID: 32605736 Review.
3. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Methods Used to Reduce Infectious Complications Following Transrectal Prostate Biopsy.Jazayeri SB, Kumar J, Nguyen S, Kuntz G, Alam MU, Tanneru K, Bazargani S, Costa J, Bandyk M, Ganapathi HP, Marino R, Koochekpour S, Balaji KC.Urology. 2020 Oct;144:21-27. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2020.06.005. Epub 2020 Jun 20.PMID: 32569659 Review.
4. A circulating tumor cell-based digital assay for the detection of EGFR T790M mutation in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Wang J, Sun N, Lee YT, Ni Y, Koochekpour R, Zhu Y, Tseng HR, Wang S, Jiang L, Zhu H.J Mater Chem B. 2020 Jul 8;8(26):5636-5644. doi: 10.1039/d0tb00589d.PMID: 32525199 Free PMC article.
5. Combination Therapy for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis.Alam MU, Jazayeri SB, Gautam S, Norez D, Kumar J, Tanneru K, Nguyen S, Costa J, Bandyk M, Ganapathi HP, Koochekpour S, Balaji KC.Am J Clin Oncol. 2020 Jul;43(7):477-483. doi: 10.1097/COC.0000000000000695.PMID: 32251121
6. Meta-analysis and systematic review of intermediate-term follow-up of prostatic urethral lift for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Tanneru K, Gautam S, Norez D, Kumar J, Alam MU, Koocheckpour S, Balaji KC, Joseph C.Int Urol Nephrol. 2020 Jun;52(6):999-1008. doi: 10.1007/s11255-020-02408-y. Epub 2020 Feb 17.PMID: 32065331
7. Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal urinary diversion following robot-assisted radical cystectomy: a meta-analysis, cumulative analysis, and systematic review. Tanneru K, Jazayeri SB, Kumar J, Alam MU, Norez D, Nguyen S, Bazargani S, Ganapathi HP, Bandyk M, Marino R, Koochekpour S, Gautam S, Balaji KC, Costa J.J Robot Surg. 2021 Jun;15(3):321-333. doi: 10.1007/s11701-020-01174-4. Epub 2020 Nov 22.PMID: 33222043 Review.
8. An Indirect Comparison of Newer Minimally Invasive Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Network Meta-Analysis Model. Tanneru K, Jazayeri SB, Alam MU, Kumar J, Bazargani S, Kuntz G, Palayapalayam Ganapathi H, Bandyk M, Marino R, Koochekpour S, Gautam S, Balaji KC, Costa J.J Endourol. 2021 Apr;35(4):409-416. doi: 10.1089/end.2020.0739. Epub 2021 Jan 25.PMID: 32962442
9. Wadosky KM, Shourideh M, Goodrich D, Koochekpour S. Riluzole induces androgen receptor degradation via ER-stress activated pathway in androgen sensitive and castration-recurrent prostate cancer. Prostate; 2019 Oct 2. doi: 10.1002/pros.23719. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:30280407
10. Ganaie A, Beigh FH, Astone M, Ferrari MG, Maqbool R, Umbreen S, Parray AS, Siddique HR, Hussain T, Murugan P, Morrissey C, Koochekpour S, Deng Y, Konety BR, Hoeppner LH, Saleem M. BMI1 drives metastasis of prostate cancer in Caucasian and African-American men and is a potential therapeutic target: hypothesis tested in race-specific models. Clin Cancer Res; 2018. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-1394; PMID:30087142
11. Koochekpour S, Strup SE, Kyprianou N, Pharmacologic Reversion of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Prostate Cancer Cells via IGF binding protein-3. Oncotarget 2017: 28;8(45):78507-78519. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.19659.