Dr. Omer Kucuk

Dr. Omer Kucuk is Professor of Hematology-Oncology and Urology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, where he holds the Correll Chair in Genitourinary Cancer. He serves as Director of the Emory Integrative Health and Medicine Center, Co-Leader of the Prostate and GU Cancer Research Program, and Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary GU Working Group. A Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Scientist, Dr. Kucuk's primary research focus is nutrition and cancer therapy — an area in which he has conducted pioneering clinical trials since 1996.

Dr. Kucuk conducted the first clinical trials of lycopene and soy isoflavones in prostate cancer and was the first to report their therapeutic benefits in both hormone-naïve and hormone-refractory disease. He was also the first to demonstrate that soy isoflavones sensitize prostate cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation, while preventing radiation's adverse effects in patients. His ongoing clinical trials explore new approaches to prostate and bladder cancer therapy combining chemotherapy, radiation, and nutritional agents — investigating carotenoids, isoflavones, zinc, selenium, and folic acid and their effects on biomarkers of cell growth, differentiation, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

Active in international research, Dr. Kucuk has led collaborative projects and conferences with scientists in Türkiye, Israel, Brazil, Canada, and Norway. He organized the First International Congress on Nutrition and Cancer in Antalya, Türkiye in 2008, and — in collaboration with veterinary researchers at Firat University — was the first to report that dietary lycopene prevents kidney cancer in Eker rat, ovarian cancer in laying hen, and leiomyoma in the Japanese quail. He is Co-Founder and Symposium Chair of the Mona & Philip Sunshine Symposium.