Punit Malpani

Mr. Punit Malpani

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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15 April 2026 in Cells
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
AFAhmed Fadiel
Ahmed Fadiel
PMPunit Malpani
Punit Malpani
KEKenneth D. Eichenbaum
Kenneth D. Eichenbaum
FNFrederick Naftolin
Frederick Naftolin
AHAya Hassouneh
Aya Hassouneh
KOKunle Odunsi
Kunle Odunsi
Prostate cancer, particularly metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), presents therapeutic challenges rooted in adaptive lineage plasticity and neuroendocrine transdifferentiation. Conventional genome-based models fail to account for the divergent clinical trajectories observed among tumors that share identical driver mutations. This limitation requires reconceptualizing cancer as a dynamic system in which tumor cells can execute context-dependent molecular programs governed by epigenetic and transcriptional network remodeling. This review critically evaluates three convergent technological pillars reshaping prostate cancer research and clinical care. First, conditional reprogramming (CR) enables the rapid generation of patient-derived models that preserve genomic fidelity, intratumoral heterogeneity, and reversible phenotypic plasticity without genetic manipulation. Second, single-cell and spatial multi-omics approaches have clarified the cellular trajectories underlying luminal-to-neuroendocrine transdifferentiation, identifying a therapeutically actionable intermediate state. They have revealed the hierarchical transcription factor network (FOXA2–NKX2-1–p300/CBP) which orchestrates chromatin remodeling during this lethal transition. Third, physics-informed machine learning and digital twin architectures aim to move beyond correlative risk prediction toward mechanistically sound forecasting of tumor evolution, treatment response, and resistance emergence. We address unresolved challenges in prospective clinical validation, spatial heterogeneity capture, regulatory pathways for functional diagnostics, and the imperative for causal, as opposed to associative, inference from perturbational datasets. The integration of these three domains through closed-loop experimental–computational feedback cycles represents a paradigm shift from reactive to anticipatory precision oncology.