Jeffrey Winkles

Jeffrey Winkles is a Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He holds secondary appointments in Physiology and Surgery, and serves as Director of Research and Discovery in Neurosurgery and Co-Director of the Translational Therapeutics Research Group. His research focuses on the TWEAK/Fn14 signaling axis in cancer biology and the development of targeted nanotherapeutics.

• Education: B.A. in Biology from the University of Delaware (1977), Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Virginia (1983), and postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (1983-1986)

His research explores the role of the TNF superfamily member TWEAK and its receptor Fn14 in cancer progression, particularly brain and breast tumors. Key findings include Fn14 overexpression in aggressive gliomas and chemotherapy-resistant cancers, suggesting its value as a therapeutic target.

Recent publications highlight pre-clinical development of Fn14-targeted nanotherapeutics for brain metastases in breast cancer and mechanistic insights into Fn14 signaling in glioma aggressiveness. The work spans molecular biology, nanotechnology, and translational oncology.

His laboratory's efforts are centered on:

• Characterizing TWEAK/Fn14 signaling in cancer cells
• Developing receptor-targeted nanotherapeutics
• Investigating Fn14's role in radiation and chemotherapy sensitivity