Luke H. Hoeppner

Biography

Luke H. Hoeppner is an Assistant Professor at The Hormel Institute and leader of the Molecular Biology and Translational Cancer Research section at The Hormel Institute. Dr. Hoeppner received his B.S. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and identified several novel prostate cancer antigens working with Dr. Douglas McNeel. He then received a Ph.D. from University of Minnesota studying with Dr. Jennifer Westendorf to elucidate the β-catenin-dependent regulation and role of an alternative Lef1 transcript in osteoblast maturation. Luke’s doctoral studies provided him with a strong foundation in molecular biology, biochemistry and cancer biology. In his postdoctoral work, Dr. Hoeppner gained expertise working with genetic animal models. He developed a zebrafish VEGF-inducible model of vascular permeability amenable to non-invasive real-time fluorescent imaging as well as a human cancer metastasis xenograft model in zebrafish. Combining preclinical mouse cancer models and human translational studies, Luke developed an orthotopic lung cancer model and used it to demonstrate that FDA approved cabergoline and other dopamine D2 receptor agonists reduce lung tumor growth and angiogenesis. He is currently investigating the contribution of downstream dopamine signaling effectors to drug resistance and lung cancer progression with the goal of developing new therapies.

Research Interest

·Role of dopamine signaling in lung cancer progression and drug resistance, · Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-induced vascular permeability in zebrafish, · Cancer metastasis, tumor microenvironment, vascular biology, and angiogenesis, · Zebrafish model of human cancer cell extravasation/metastasis, · Skin biology and melanoma,