Christina Voelkel-Johnson, Ph.D.

I am an Associate Professor of Immunology with a secondary appointment in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Until recently, my research has focused on cancer biology with specific interests in cell death signaling and developmental cancer therapeutics. I have extensively studied sphingolipid metabolism in the context of cancer therapy resistance and am now an internationally recognized expert in the field. I also have a strong background in immunology and inflammation. In recent years, my laboratory has focused on understanding how an inhibitor of the lysosomal enzyme acid ceramidase, when used in combination with radiation therapy, results in complete and durable cures in a prostate cancer xenograft model. In 2018 these efforts led to the discovery that acid ceramidase plays a survival role in polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCC). The PGCC subpopulation is driven by stress in the tumor microenvironment and by assuming transient senescence. My group established acid ceramidase as the first known target that prevents depolyploidization in polyploid giant cancer cells.