Cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Researchers in this group investigate how genetic and environmental factors result in cancer through disruption of cellular growth control and organismal development.

Collaborative work involving clinicians and laboratory scientists allows access to normal and cancerous human tissues and fosters the development of clinical trials.

Faculty

Paul Andreassen, PhD Paul Andreassen, PhD, Associate Professor
Fanconi anemia and breast cancer susceptibility proteins in DNA damage responses and genetic stability [Visit the  Andreassen lab]
cancelas-jose-thumbnail Jose A. Cancelas Perez, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of norm and cancer hematopoietic stem cells [Visit the Cancelas Lab]
  Brian Gebelein, PhD, Associate Professor
Patterning of the nervous and digestive systems during development [Visit the Gebelein Lab]
Lee Grimes, PhD Lee Grimes, PhD, Professor
Hematopoiesis, molecular biology, and molecular oncology including mouse modeling of hematopoiesis, myelopoiesis and leukemia. [Visit the Grimes Lab]
Rashmi Hegde, PhD Rashmi Hegde, PhD, Professor
The Hegde laboratory studies molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis in development, cancer and retinal diseases, and is involved in structure- and mechanism-based drug development [Visit the Hegde Lab]
Tanya V. Kalin, MD, PhD Tanya V. Kalin, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Molecular biology of cancer, tumor microenvironment and metastasis. Chemotherapeutic drug development. [Visit the Kalin Lab]
Vladimir Kalinichenko, MD, PhD Vladimir Kalinichenko, MD, PhD, Professor
Transcriptional regulation of epithelial and endothelial cell functions during lung embryonic development and lung carcinogenesis. [Visit the Pulmonary Biology]
Rafi Kopan, PhD Rafi Kopan, PhD, Professor
The generation of different cell types and specialized organs. [Visit the Kopan Lab]
Qing Richard Lu, PhD Qing Richard Lu, PhD, Professor
Transcriptional and epigenetic control of glial development and brain tumor initiation [Visit the Lu Lab]
James C. Mulloy, PhD James C. Mulloy, PhD, Professor
Molecular mechanisms involved in leukemia induction and maintenance; mouse modeling of leukemia using primary human blood stem cells [Visit the Mulloy Lab]
Nancy Ratner, PhD Nancy Ratner, PhD, Professor
The Ratner lab studies how nerve development is subverted in cancer. We aim to identify targets for therapy in the inherited cancer predisposition syndromes neurofibromatosis type 1 and type 2. [Visit the Ratner Lab]
  Soona Shin, PhD, Assistant Professor
Molecular mechanisms of childhood liver cancer with a focus on hepatic stem/progenitor cells. [Visit the Shin Lab]
Susanne Wells, PhD Susanne Wells, PhD, Professor
Papilloma virus and cervical cancer [Visit the Susanne Wells Lab]
Kathryn Wikenheiser-Brokamp, MD, PhD Kathryn Wikenheiser-Brokamp, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Our research aims to elucidate the molecular basis of lung development and disease with specific focus on identifying critical biologic functions of the Rb/p16, p53 and Dicer/miRNA pathways in pulmonary progenitor/stem cell growth in the context of organogenesis, repair after injury and disease pathogenesis to identify novel targets with diagnostic and therapeutic utility. [Visit Pathology]
Yi Zheng, PhD Yi Zheng, PhD, Professor
Molecular mechanisms of Rho GTPase signal transduction. Development of novel therapeutic reagents to inhibit Rho pathways related to human pathological conditions [Visit the Zheng Lab]