Dr R. Kiss' main research interests are in translational cancer research with special focuses on compounds from natural origins, especially plants and fungi. He is interested in cancer types that display intrinsic resistance to pro-apoptotic stimuli, especially to conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and/ or that develop multidrug-resistance during chronic chemotherapy with special interests for gliomas and melanomas. Dr R. Kiss and his team pay particular attention to three types of cancer targets that are associated with dismal prognoses. The first class of targets comprises compounds that interact with proteins that control the actin cytoskeleton and lead to cytostatic and anti- migratory behaviors that mediate anti-metastatic effects. Narciclasine that is extracted from daffodil bulbs and its semi- synthetic derivatives represent one example of this research axis with an emphasis on GTPases as main targets of interest. The second class of targets relate to ion channels and pumps that selectively modulate the biological behavior of cancer cells compared to those of normal cells. Compounds of interest have been identified among plants and fungi and include for example cardiotonic steroids that target the Na+/K+-ATPase in plants and the cytochalasins that target the Kv1.5 channel. Many other novel secondary fungal metabolites are under investigation in Dr R. Kiss' laboratory as potential anticancer agents. The third target of interest is galectin-1, which is a hypoxia-regulated protein that permits cancer cells to escape immune system attacks. Galectin-1 is pro-angiogenic in hypoxic tumor tissues and pro-migratory in cancer cells. In addition, galectin-1 exhibits protective effects in cancer cells against cytotoxic insults following chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Dr R. Kiss and colleagues have developed and patented a siRNA-based approach to lower galectin-1 expression in cancer cells. They intend to evaluate this approach in clinical trials in the near