Paul Dent, PhD
Consultant
With expertise in signal transduction, Dr. Dent is dedicated to the developmental of cancer therapeutics at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work includes projects funded by the National Institute of Health and Department of Defense, and focuses on the rational combination of drugs and other molecules designed to kill tumor cells. Dent has conducted studies exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms and synergy of specific drug combinations—including modulation of apoptosis, autophagy, colony formation, and changes in cell signaling pathways found in breast, brain, liver and pancreatic cancers. Studies investigating the combination of pemetrexed and sorfenib for the treatment of breast cancer have advanced to phase I trial. He has also been instrumental in phase I trials related to brain cancer. Dent earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and a doctorate in biochemistry from University of Dundee, Scotland. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship with Professor T. W. Sturgill at the University of Virginia.