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Cancer Biology Faculty

Program Director

Rolf Brekken, Ph.D.
Rolf Brekken, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Tumor-host interactions in pancreatic cancer, tumor microenvironment, epithelial plasticity, immune therapy, angiogenesis, metastasis, ECM signaling, matricellular proteins

Faculty

John Abrams, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular genetics of cell death; genomic “dark matter”; p53 tumor suppressor function; 3D genome organization

John Abrams, Ph.D.
Michalis Agathokleous, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Hematopoietic stem cell and leukemia metabolism; metabolites and the stem cell genome

Michalis Agathokleous, Ph.D.
Todd Aguilera, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Tumor microenvironment, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, tumor immunology

Todd Aguilera, M.D., Ph.D.
Esra Akbay, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Lung cancer microenvironment, immunotherapy

Esra Akbay, Ph.D.
Prasanna G. Alluri, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Translational, breast cancer research, bedside to bench approaches, mechanisms of treatment resistance, translational genomics

Prasanna Alluri, M.D., Ph.D.
Asaithamby Aroumougame, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Immunotherapy and radiotherapy in cancer prevention and treatment; premature aging and carcinogenesis; DNA damage response signaling in heart development

Asaithamby Aroumougame, Ph.D.
Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D.

Professor & Director

Research Interests: Breast cancer; oncogenes; drug resistance; targeted therapies; molecules of interest: ERα, ERBB2 (HER2), CDK4/6, PI3K, FGFR

Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D.
Kareem Azab, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Drug resistance mechanism, drug delivery systems, nanoparticles, immunotherapy, tissue engineering

Kareem Azab, Ph.D.
James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of cell growth proliferation control

James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D.
Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Stem cell biology; niche signaling; chromatin; translational repression

Michael Buszczak, Ph.D.
Xin Cai, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Signal transduction, Mitochondria function, Cell growth and proliferation, Cancer metabolism

Xin Cai, M.D., Ph.D.
Diego Castrillon, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Endometrial cancer, cancer genetics, model systems, polymerase epsilon

Diego Castrillon, M.D., Ph.D.
Isaac Chan, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Metastasis, Breast Cancer, Tumor Immunology, Immunotherapy

Isaac Chan, M.D., Ph.D.
Kenneth Chen, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Genetic drivers of childhood cancers, especially Wilms tumor and germ cell tumors, and new strategies for treating them

Kenneth Chen, M.D.
Cheng-Ming Chiang, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and epigenetic control; chromatin remodeling and histone tail modification; sumoylation and ubiquitination; functional interplay between oncoproteins and tumor suppressor proteins; general transcription factors and cofactors

Cheng-Ming Chiang, Ph.D.
Stephen Chung, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests:Hematopoiesis, Leukemia, Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes, Stem Cell Biology

Stephen Chung, M.D.
Melanie Cobb, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Protein kinase cascades; MAP kinases; signal-transduction mechanisms

Melanie Cobb, Ph.D.
Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cell migration, survival, stress responses, cancer

Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D.
Suzanne Conzen, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: nuclear receptors, hormone driven cancers

Suzanne Conzen, M.D.
Ian Corbin, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Nanomedicine and image-guided drug delivery for novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications in oncology

Ian Corbin, Ph.D.
Lindsay Cowell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Somatic diversification of antigen receptor genes; repertoire characteristics as biomarkers of immune status and disease; host-pathogen interactions

Lindsay Cowell, Ph.D.
Gaudenz Danuser, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Regulation of cell morphogenesis during metastasis; roles of mechanics in cell survival and drug resistance

Gaudenz Danuser, Ph.D.
Anthony Davis, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Uncover mechanisms that modulate the cellular response to DSBs

Anthony Davis, Ph.D.
Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Regulation of metabolism during cell growth and tumorigenesis; integrating signal transduction with metabolic flux; understanding pediatric metabolic diseases

Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.
Beatriz Fontoura, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Role of nuclear transport factors in interphase and mitosis from viral pathogenesis to cell division

Beatriz Fontoura, Ph.D.
Rene L. Galindo, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of pediatric sarcoma tumorigenesis and developmental skeletal muscle patterning

Rene Galindo, M.D., Ph.D.
Jinming Gao, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Activatable optical/MRI imaging probes to study tumor metabolism and theranostic nanomedicine for cancer-targeted drug therapy

Jinming Gao, Ph.D.
Javier Garcia-Bermudez, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Cancer Metabolism, Oxidative stress, Lipid Metabolism

Javier Garcia-Bermudez, Ph.D
Jennifer Gill, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests:  Melanoma progression and metastasis, cancer metabolism, translational researchBone, omics, spatial transcritpomics, osteoimmunology, digit regeneration, fracture repair, heterotopic ossification, musculoskeletal biology

Jennifer Gill, M.D., Ph.D.
Joshua Gruber, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Epigenome engineering; Nucleosome production; Drug discovery; Tumor immunology

Joshua Gruber, M.D., Ph.D.
Amyn Habib, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Interactions between inflammatory and oncogenic signaling pathways with a focus on glioblastoma (GBM) as our cancer model

Amyn Habib, M.D.
Raquibul Hannan, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Tumor Immunology, Radiation Immunomodulation, Immunotherapy

Raquibul Hannan, M.D.
William Harbour, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic mechanisms of metastasis, Ocular Oncology, Retinoblastoma, Tumor Immune Microenvironment, Uveal Melanoma

William Harbour, M.D.
Yujin Hoshida, M.D, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Translational research in liver cancer, prognostic liver signature, hepatocellular carcinoma molecular subtypes, hepatocellular carcinoma chemoprevention discovery

Yujin Hoshida, M.D, Ph.D.
Gerta Hoxhaj, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Cancer metabolism, nutrient signaling, protein kinases

Gerta Hoxhaj, Ph.D.
Emina Huang, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Colorectal cancer, tumor microenvironment, regeneration, cancer stem cells

Emina Huang, M.D.
Huocong Huang, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Fibroblast, Stromal immunology, Mesenchymal progenitor cell, Immunotherapy

Huocong Huang, M.D., Ph.D.
Lily Huang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cytokine receptor; signal transduction; hematopoiesis; structure-function analysis of protein; cancer

Jun-Shen 'Lily' Huang, Ph.D.
Jenna Jewell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cancer biology, CRISPR genome editing, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), nutrient sensing, signal transduction

Jenna Jewell, Ph.D.
Jin Jiang, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Signal-transduction pathways in development and human disease; genetic control of organ growth and patterning; tumor suppressor genes

Jin Jiang, Ph.D.
Daehwan Kim, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: DNA, RNA, and bisulfite sequence alignment, graph alignment to population of genomes and genotyping, personalized medicine with a focus on cancer diagnosis

Daehwan Kim, Ph.D.
James Kim, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cancer biology, lung cancer, developmental pathways, hedgehog signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, tumor-stromal interactions, tumor microenvironment

James Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Ralf Kittler, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Functions of cancer-relevant transcription factors and to translate this knowledge into new approaches for detection and treatment of cancer

Ralf Kittler, Ph.D.
Matteo Ligorio, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Discovering novel (immune) mechanisms that regulate carcinogenesis and tumor progression (e.g., invasion/metastasis, tumor microenvironment, etc.) to answer the most fundamental questions in cancer biology with the final intent of developing novel therapeutic strategies for cancer patients

Matteo Ligorio, M.D., Ph.D.
Weibo Luo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: The role of hypoxia inducible factors in tumor growth and metastasis

Weibo Luo, Ph.D.
Peter Ly, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Mechanisms of genomic instability and chromosomal alterations in cancer

Peter Ly, Ph.D.
Ravikanth Maddipati, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Tumor metastasis, tumor heterogeneity, therapy resistance, circulation tumor cells, and cellular plasticity

Ravikanth Maddipati, M.D.
Srinivas Malladi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Cancer metastasis; metastatic stem cells; tumor biology and microenvironment

Srinivas Malladi, Ph.D.
Ram Mani, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Epigenetic mechanisms underlying cancer progression; ETS gene fusions in prostate cancer; genomic rearrangements in cancer; transcriptional regulation in prostate cancer

Ram Mani, Ph.D.
Elisabeth Martinez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Discovery and characterization of novel chemical epigenetic modulators of gene expression with specific anti-cancer activity

Elisabeth Martinez, Ph.D.
Ralph P. Mason, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Tumor pathophysiology and MR assessment of prognostic biomarkers/hypoxia and pH

Ralph Mason, Ph.D.
Samuel McBrayer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Nitrogen metabolism, crosstalk between the metabolome and epigenome, metabolic mechanisms of tumor initiation, synthetic lethality, glioma biology, CRISPR/Cas9-based mouse models of cancer

Samuel McBrayer, Ph.D.
Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Regulation and function of mammalian miRNAs and other noncoding RNAs in normal physiology and disease

Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D.
John Minna, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Molecular genetics of human cancer; growth factors and signal transduction in human tumors

John Minna, M.D.
Sean Morrison, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cancer stem cell biology; melanoma cell proliferation and metastasis; stem cell aging; stem cell self-renewal

Sean Morrison, Ph.D.
Ping Mu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanism of therapy resistance in prostate cancer, combined therapy development, novel biomarker identification, non-coding RNAs’ function in prostate cancer

Ping Mu, Ph.D.
Saikat Mukhopadhyay, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Role of the primary cilia in normal development and cancer; functional proteomics in ciliary diseases; ciliary signaling pathways

Saikat Mukhopadhyay, M.D., Ph.D.
Ayaz Najafov, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Immunogenic Cell Death, Necroptosis Signaling, Anti-tumor Immunity, Immunotherapy

Ayaz Najafov, Ph.D.
Kathryn O’Donnell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Mechanisms of tumorigenesis; Regulation and function of cell surface receptors in lung cancer pathogenesis

Kathryn O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Ganesh Raj, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Hormone dependent malignancies (prostate and breast); steroid receptor crosstalk; therapeutic drug development; ex vivo model development

Ganesh Raj, M.D., Ph.D.
Satwick Rajaram, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Spatial organization of tumors by combining machine identified phenotypes and existing pathology scoring within the framework established by cancer biology

Satwick Rajaram, Ph.D.
Ashish Ranjan, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Nanomedicine, immunotherapy, ultrasound and radiation guided chemo-immunonotherapy

Ashish Ranjan, Ph.D.
Sangeetha Reddy, M.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Breast cancer, Immunotherapy, Innate Immunity, Translational Immuno-oncology

Sangeetha Reddy, M.D.
Joachim Seemann, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Biogenesis of the Golgi apparatus

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Jerry Shay, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cancer stem cells, cell biology of the cancer genome, mechanisms of cellular immortalization, mouse models of radiation-induced cancer, role of telomeres and telomerase in cancer and aging

Hijai (Regina) Shin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Lysosome biology, mTORC1 signaling, lipid metabolism and sensing, organelle communications

Hijai (Regina) Shin, Ph.D.
Stephen Skapek, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Tumor suppressor gene function; angiogenesis; skeletal muscle differentiation; oncogene-induced senescence

Stephen Skapek, M.D.
Douglas Strand, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Benign and malignant urologic diseases, computational and translational biology, cellular anatomy, single cell technology

Douglas Strand, Ph.D.
Richard Wang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Double-stranded DNA tumor viruses (human papillomavirus, human polyomaviruses); circular RNA biogenesis and function; facilitative glucose transporters

Richard Wang, Ph.D.
Angelique Whitehurst, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: The role of ectopically activated gametogenic programs in supporting tumor cell proliferation and survival

Angelique Whitehurst, Ph.D.
Tom Wilkie, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: G-protein signaling during mouse development, energy homeostasis, and feeding behavior

Tom Wilkie, Ph.D.
Chien-Ting Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Virus infectioninduced nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer

Chien-Ting Wu, Ph.D.
Sihan Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Extrachromosomal DNA in Cancer, Cancer Genomic, Cancer Epigenetics

Sihan Wu, Ph.D.
Tuoqi Wu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: T cells, Immunotherapy

Tuoqi Wu, Ph.D.
Yang Xie, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Statistical analysis and rational design of cellular systems; evolutionary design of the bacterial flagellum

Yang Xie, Ph.D.
Chen Yao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: T cell differentiation and function, anti-viral immune response and anti-tumor immunity

Chen Yao, Ph.D.
Hasan Zaki, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: NOD-like receptors; innate immune signaling pathways; host-pathogen interaction; intestinal inflammation and cancer

Hasan Zaki, Ph.D.
Chengcheng (Alec) Zhang, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Signaling and function of immune inhibitory receptors in cancer and immunity; novel immunotherapies targeting cancers and tumor microenvironment.

Chengcheng (Alec) Zhang, Ph.D.
Qing Zhang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Regulation and function of oxygen sensing pathway in diseases including cancer; post-translational modifications of proteins; tumor suppressor signaling and synthetic lethality

Qing Zhang, Ph.D.
Siyuan Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Single cell genomics, tumor microenvironment, cancer metastatsis, cancer immunotherapy, cancer evolution

Siyuan Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Zhenyu Zhong, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Inflammation, innate immunity, mitochondrial signaling pathways and tumor immunology

Zhenyu Zhong, Ph.D.
Hao Zhu, M.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Genetic and cellular mechanisms of organ regeneration and dysregulation of these mechanisms in liver cancer

Hao Zhu, M.D.

Associate Members

These faculty members do not accept graduate students. They participate in teaching, co-mentoring, exam and dissertation committees, and all other program responsibilities.

Robert Bachoo, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms underlying brain tumors

Robert Bachoo, M.D., Ph.D.
Cristel Camacho, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Cancer, Genomics, Non-coding Genome, PARPs, DNA Damage Signaling

Cristel Comacho, Ph.D.
Benjamin Drapkin, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Small cell lung cancer, acquired resistance to therapy, intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity, tumor lineage plasticity and transdifferentiation, cell cycle control and the RB tumor suppressor

Benjamin Drapkin, M.D., Ph.D.
Robert E. Hammer, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Transforming growth factor beta signaling

Robert E. Hammer, Ph.D.
Ariella Hanker, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Breast cancer, targeted therapy, drug resistance, precision medicine, kinase signaling, oncogenes

Ariella Hanker, Ph.D.
Sandra Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Batten disease, Protein lipidation

Sandra Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Jer-Tsong (J.T.) Hsieh, Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Human cancer gene therapy; signaling defects in urogenital cancers

Jer-Tsong (J.T.) Hsieh, Ph.D.
Tadamoto Isogai, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests:  Morphological and cytoskeletal organization of cell signaling in cancer survival and drug resistance

Tadamoto Isogai, Ph.D.
Heather McArthur, M.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Breast cancer, immuno therapy

Heather McArthur, M.D.
Daolin Tang, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

Research Interests: Cell death, DAMPs, Autophagy

Daolin Tang, M.D., Ph.D.
Durga Udayakumar, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Research Interests: Molecular Characterization of Tumors Utilizing Radiogenomics; Non-invasive Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers as Prognostic and Predictive Tools

Durga Udayakumar, Ph.D.
Sam Wang, M.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Gastric cancer, Biomarker discovery, Genomics, Tumor suppressors, Oncogenes, Disparity

Sam Wang, M.D.
Vlad Zaha, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Research Interests: Cardio-oncology; Mechanisms of cardiotoxicity of anticancer therapy: Chemo-taoxicity, Radio-toxicity, Immuno-toxicity; Immunomodulation; Effect of cardiovascular stress on tumor growth and metastases
Vlad Zaha, M.D., Ph.D