# Owen N. Witte

Source: https://onco.cc/people/owen-witte/  
OnCo record `owen-witte` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Discovered the BCR-ABL kinase activity that imatinib blocks and now hunts for new prostate cancer targets.

## Summary

Owen Witte is University Professor and Founding Director Emeritus of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA, within the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. A molecular biologist specialising in prostate cancer biology and kinase signalling, he identified the tyrosine kinase activity of the BCR-ABL oncoprotein, the basis of imatinib. His papers include the Cell report that an alteration of the human c-abl protein in K562 leukaemia cells unmasks associated tyrosine kinase activity and a Science study reprogramming normal human epithelial tissues to a common, lethal neuroendocrine cancer lineage. His laboratory now defines prostate cancer lineage plasticity and hunts for immunotherapy targets such as PSCA and STEAP1, alongside PSMA and the androgen receptor.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Role: University Professor; Founding Director Emeritus, Broad Stem Cell Research Center, UCLA
- Specialisms: Prostate cancer biology; Kinase signalling; Immunotherapy targets

## Sources

- UCLA profile: https://www.uclahealth.org/providers?q=Owen%20N.%20Witte
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Witte%20ON%5BAuthor%5D
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Owen%20N.%20Witte

## Connected records

- cancers: [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- targets: [Androgen receptor](https://onco.cc/targets/androgen-receptor/), [BCR::ABL1 (Philadelphia chromosome)](https://onco.cc/targets/bcr-abl/), [PSMA](https://onco.cc/targets/psma/), [STEAP1](https://onco.cc/targets/steap1/)
- drugs: [Imatinib](https://onco.cc/drugs/imatinib/)
- institutions: [UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/ucla-jonsson/)
- people: [Brian Druker](https://onco.cc/people/brian-druker/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/owen-witte.json