Jean-Philippe Theurillat

Prof. Jean-Philippe Theurillat is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and affiliated with the Institute of Oncology Research (IOR) at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). His career includes medical training at the University of Zurich, specialization in internal medicine and surgical pathology, and postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich and Harvard Medical School. He focuses on prostate cancer drivers, particularly TRIM24 and SPOP mutations, aiming to develop targeted therapies. His work has been published in Nature Medicine, Science, and Cancer Cell, earning prestigious awards. He teaches at USI’s biomedical faculty and leads projects on androgen receptor signaling and genomic vulnerabilities.

Education

• M.D., University of Zurich (1999)
• Specialization in Surgical Pathology, University Hospital Zurich and CHUV Lausanne
• Postdoctoral Fellowships: ETH Zurich (2008–2011), Harvard (2011–2014)

Research Focus

His lab explores genetic drivers of prostate cancer progression, including TRIM24’s role in castration-resistant disease and SPOP mutations influencing androgen sensitivity. They developed preclinical drug candidates targeting TRIM24 and identified biomarkers for personalized androgen therapy. Collaborations include studies on SPOP-linked neurodevelopmental disorders and the largest transcriptional atlas of prostate cancer (pcaprofiler.com).

Awards

• Pfizer Research Prize in Oncology (2012)
• Astellas Award (2017)

Grants & Labs

Recipient of Swiss National Science Foundation professorship grant (2014). Leads IOR’s translational oncology team, focusing on combination therapies to counteract drug resistance and metastasis.