Prostate Cancer Genetics Specialist Joins Ohio State
Rick A. Kittles, PhD, a specialist in prostate cancer genetics among African-Americans, has joined The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute as a researcher in human cancer genetics.
Kittles joins the University as an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics. He came to Ohio State from Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he co-directed the molecular genetics unit of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University.
“Dr. Kittles is a leader in the very important area of prostate cancer genetics, and his recruitment is a valuable addition to our cancer genetics program,” says Albert de la Chapelle, MD, PhD, co-leader of the OSUCCC Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics (MBCG) Program, and holder of the Leonard J. Immke, Jr. and Charlotte L. Immke Chair in Cancer Research.
Kittles studies the causes of health disparities in minority populations. He is particularly interested in how genetic variation affects prostate cancer risk, and in potential biological mechanisms that may contribute to health disparities.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and a doctorate in biology from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His major fields of study were population genetics, biological anthropology, and systematics and evolution.