1. Cancer Biology
Image of researchers in lab

Laboratories

As a student in our Cancer Biology training area, you will devote a significant portion of your time to research. Explore our laboratories and learn about our investigators.

Meet the Co-Directors

Explore Our Labs

Aaronson Lab
Investigating genetic alterations that contribute to cancer with the goals of identifying novel targets and new cancer therapies, utilizing state-of-the-art molecular and cell biological technologies.

Aguirre-Guiso Lab of Signaling and Metastasis
Exploring the biology of disseminated tumor cells, focusing on mechanisms of survival, dormancy, and growth of loco-regional or secondary organ disseminated tumor cells.

Baron Lab
Researching hematopoietic and vascular development in mice; regulation of stem cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation; gene regulation; primitive and definitive endodermal lineages; and angiogenesis.

Bernstein Lab (Emily)
Exploring epigenetic regulation of gene expression in multiple biological pathways, including cancer, cellular senescence, and stem cell biology.

Boffetta - Cancer Prevention and Control Division Research
Researching safer and more effective cancer treatments.

Bravo-Cordero Lab
Study how tumor cells disseminate during metastasis and how the interaction with the tumor microenvironment, in particular the extracellular matrix, determines the fate of disseminated cancer cells. We utilize high-resolution in vivo microscopy in order to study the plastic behavior of disseminating cancer cells and their dormancy-awaken transitions in vivo.

Burakoff Lab
Exploring dendritic cell and macrophage immune dysregulation in the tumor micro-environment; developing preclinical models to restore immunogenicity to tumor associated antigens; and translating these discoveries into cancer immunotherapy trials.

Jia Chen
Elucidating effects of environment and lifestyle factors (e.g. pollutants, stress, nutrients) on the epi/genome (e.g. transcriptome, methylome, microRNA, imprintome) and their ultimate impact on cancer and other human diseases.

Chen Lab
Focusing on the identification and development of novel cancer therapeutic modalities that are able to reconstruct the antitumor response by utilizing a combination of the host immune system and the mechanisms of cancer biology.

Chipuk Lab
Studying how the shape and composition of the mitochondrial network impacts on cell biology within the context of human disease.

Dominguez-Sola Lab
Understanding how cancer initiation shapes the biological features and natural history of this disease, specifically in models of aggressive B cell lymphoma.

Ezhkova Lab
Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skin homeostasis and tumorigenesis.

Fisher Lab
Understanding regulation of cell division and gene expression through chemical-genetic manipulation of cyclin-dependent kinases.

Germain Lab
Focusing on breast cancer research, using a combination of cell biology and mouse genetics approaches, to investigate the link between pregnancy and breast cancer and the role of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in breast cancer progression.

Ginsburg Lab
Focusing on research in erythropoiesis and iron metabolism, using a combination of cell biology and mouse genetics approaches, to investigate the role of iron transport in erythroid differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis.

Irie Lab
Focusing on the role of oncogenese, such as Akt regulate processes in breast cancer, and identifying novel regulators of anoikis resistance for novel therapeutic targets in breast cancer treatment.

Itzkowitz – Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Lab
Studying the role of trefoil factors in gastrointestinal cancer biology.

LeRoith Lab
Understanding the role of insulin and insulin-like growth factors in health and disease, including the factors which explain the increased risk of cancer, especially triple negative breast cancer, and cancer-related mortality in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Lujambio Lab
Studying mechanisms of liver cancer initiation and maintenance, specifically how genetic alterations in cancer cells contribute to tumorigenesis, alter treatment response, and create vulnerabilities that may be targeted therapeutically.

Manfredi Lab
Researching the role of the tumor suppressor p53 and its pathway in regulation of gene regulation and tumorigenesis in cells and mouse models.

Montgomery-Schnur Lab
Researching integrative and behavioral medicine interventions to improve quality of life for individuals with cancer.

O’Connell Lab
Focusing on two related aspects of the biology that controls the integrity of the genome: cell division cycle and signaling pathways; and determinants of chromosome structure.

Pan Lab
Investigating the role of ubiquitin signaling in cancer biology using biochemical, molecular biology, and chemical biology approaches.

Papapetrou Lab
Studying myeloid malignancies to understand disease mechanisms and to identify new therapeutic targets using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and genome editing technologies (CRISPR and others).

Parekh Lab
Studying genetic and epigenetic variation contribution to aberrant gene expression in B cell malignancies, particularly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma, using an integrated systems biology approach.

Parsons Lab
Combining molecular pathology and genetic tumor biopsies, human and mouse tumor models, metabolism, epigenetics, and biochemistry of signaling.

Pfleger Lab
Employing the synergistic systems of in vivo Drosophila (fruit fly) genetics, tissue culture, and in vitro biochemistry to: investigate Ras signaling, the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway, and the ubiquitin pathway; and to develop fly models of human disease.

Poulikakos Lab
Investigating pharmacologic targeting of oncogenic signaling. We are focused on understanding mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to small molecule inhibitors and use this knowledge to design more effective therapeutic strategies in cancer.

Reddy Lab
Developing novel, targeted therapies for cancer, through understanding the oncogenic signaling that mediates the proliferative and metastatic behavior of cancer cells and identifying specific targets that can be inhibited by small molecule inhibitors.

Silva Lab
Researching into the characterization of the breast cancer genome and identification of novel breast cancer targeted therapies through functional genomics.

Skobe Lab
Exploring the mechanisms of cancer metastasis, tumor microenvironment and the biology of lymphatic vasculature in health and disease.

Villanueva Lab
Analyzing molecular heterogeneity and drivers of cancer evolution in hepatocellular carcinoma, and developing novel prognostic and predictive biomarkers using minimally invasive approaches (i.e., liquid biopsy).

Yu Lab
Researching to: identify key therapeutic targets that play essential roles in cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic resistance; understand underlying mechanisms; and develop therapeutic agents and combinations against these targets to hopefully slow down and/or stop a variety of cancers.