J. Alan Diehl, PhD, Case CCC's Deputy Director for CWRU and Molecular Oncology Program member, has spent more than three decades investigating the molecular pathways that drive tumor growth, adaptation and therapeutic resistance.
Diehl’s early work helped define the cyclin D–CDK4/6 axis and how its dysregulation contributes to tumor growth, providing foundational insights for the development of CDK4/6 inhibitors.
More recently, his laboratory has focused on the stress-response mechanisms cancer cells use to survive and progress. His team was among the first to connect these responses to NRF2, a transcription factor that regulates gene expression, and continues to investigate stress-adaptation circuits that may reveal new therapeutic vulnerabilities.
“We already understand a great deal about how cancers adapt to stress,” Diehl said. “The next step is using that knowledge to take away their advantage.”
Connecting Discovery Across Case CCC
As one of three Case CCC deputy directors, Diehl helps shape scientific strategy across the center's consortium of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, strengthening connections between basic discovery, translational research and clinical investigation.
He also played an instrumental leadership role in Case CCC's recent $25.5 million Cancer Center Support Grant renewal from the National Cancer Institute, which renewed the center's NCI support for the maximum seven-year project period.
“Alan has a rare ability to connect molecular insight to patient impact,” said Case CCC Director Gary K. Schwartz, MD. “He understands how to move ideas from basic science into the clinic—and helps lead a research enterprise that spans institutions, tumor types and therapeutic strategies.”
Diehl, who also serves as the Leonard and Jean Skeggs Professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed publications and maintained continuous NIH funding. His contributions to research and institutional leadership were recently recognized with the Case Medal for Excellence in Health Science Innovation, the School of Medicine's highest honor.