Erwin G. Van Meir, Ph.D.

Associate Director for Shared Resources

Erwin G. Van Meir, Ph.D., is the Associate Director for Shared Resources in the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery.

The Van Meir lab research interest lies in understanding the molecular basis for human tumor development and how they can use this knowledge to devise new therapeutics that will improve patient survival. They examine how (epi)genetic alterations and hypoxia induce changes in cell biology that promote tumor formation through cancer cell intrinsic and extrinsic signaling, including tumor angiogenesis.

They have developed novel therapeutic approaches for cancer using oncolytic adenoviruses and anti-angiogenic molecules, and are currently developing novel small molecules to reprogram the tumor suppressor epigenome, reduce cancer therapy resistance and block the hypoxia-inducible factor pathway. Van Meir and his team aim to translate these novel agents to testing in clinical trials with the hope to develop novel medicines for cancer treatment. The principal modeling systems they use are malignant brain (glioblastoma and medulloblastoma) and eye (metastatic uveal melanoma) cancers, although the experimental therapeutics they develop are applicable to the cure of many solid malignancies.