Cancer Biology Graduate Training Program


    The UCI Cancer Biology Graduate Training Program is part of a large, multidisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry  in the School of Biological Sciences.  This Cancer Biology Training Program functions as a “track” within the larger program, sharing a common core curriculum and admissions process.   Research opportunities in cancer biology span a broad spectrum.  They include studies on fundamental biological processes involved in development of cancer (e.g. oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, tumor virology, signal transduction, cancer genetics, growth factors, cancer immunology, structural analysis) and in diagnosis or therapy of cancer (e.g. chemoprevention, gene therapy, tumor imaging).  Experimental systems range from simple eukaryotes such as yeast, through Drosophila and mice to humans.

    Students in the Cancer Biology Program are eligible for support from an NIH training grant in carcinogenesis.  A variety of national and international meetings on cancer-related topics are organized by the UCI Cancer Research Institute, and they provide opportunities for learning about the most recent developments in cancer research.  The UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive center) also provides opportunities for students to interact with clinicians engaged in research and treatment of cancer patients.


Requirements:

    Students in the Cancer Biology track are required to take four core courses (MB203, MB204, DB231B and MB206), as well as a two quarter elective (Cancer Biology, MB217A and B) and “Clinical Cancer for Basic Scientists” (MB218).  Two additional upper division elective courses are required (e.g. PB281, MB221, MB224).

    First year graduate students rotate through three laboratories in order to experience research activities and to aid them in selection of a dissertation advisor at the end of their first year.  In addition to the formal courses, students are expected to attend Departmental Seminar series, and also the spring quarter course of the Carcinogenesis Training Grant.

Cancer Biology Faculty

Track coordinator  - Hung Fan, + 

Bogi Andersen, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biologyical Chemistry
    Transcriptional regulation in the developmental biology of epidermis and mammary gland
Hoda Anton-Culver, + Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
    Cancer and genetic epidemiology, statistical and molecular genetics, medical informatics
Lee Bardwell, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Development & Cell Biology
    Intracellular signalling in development and disease
Hans Ulrich Bernard, + Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Gene expression of papillomaviruses; progression of cervical cancer
Carrie B. Brachmann, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Development & Cell Biology
    Spatial regulation of developmental apoptosis; Bcl-2 proteins; cell signaling
Ralph A. Bradshaw, + Ph.D., Professor of Biological Chemistry
    Growth factor action; signal transduction; protein processing
Peter J. Bryant, + Ph.D., Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology
    Molecular controls on cell proliferation in Drosophila
Melanie Cocco, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    NMR spectroscopy, DNA-binding proteins, membrane proteins, cancer
Xing Dai, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry
    Role of the regulatory proteins Ovo in germ cell and epidermal differentiation
Hung Fan, + Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Molecular biology and pathogenesis of mouse and human retroviruses

Anand Ganesan, + M.D./Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Dermatology
    Identify the key molecular regulators of melanin production, melanoma cell survival, and melanoma chemoresistance in human cells
J. Jay Gargus, + M.D./Ph.D., Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Pediatrics
    Molecular analysis of signalling proteins
Harry T. Haigler, + Ph.D., Professor of Physiology & Biophysics
    Growth factor signal transduction
Lan Huang, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Development & Cell Biology
    Proteomics/mass spectrometry, signaling networks, posttranslational modifications, biomarkers in cancer
Christopher C.W. Hughes, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Molecular biology of angiogenesis
Peter Kaiser +, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry
    Cell cycle control; regulation of proteins by ubiquitination
John J. Krolewski, + M.D./Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology and Biological Chemistry
    Signal transduction pathways regulating the growth and death of normal and neoplastic cells
Arthur D. Lander, + M.D./Ph.D., Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology and Pharmacology
    Mechanisms of growth factor action; extracellular matrix; developmental neurobiology
Eva Y.-H. P. Lee, + Ph.D., Professor of Biological Chemistry and Developmental & Cell Biology
    Cell cycle checkpoint pathways and molecular genetic studies of breast cancer using mouse models
Ellis Levin, + M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Biological Chemistry
    Estrogen receptor and its effects on the biology of estrogen action
Steven M. Lipkin, + M.D./Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry
    Genetics and Genomics of Cancer and Infertility; Molecular mechanisms of DNA mismatch repair
J. Lawrence Marsh, + Ph.D., Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology
    Oncogene signalling pahtways in normal and abnormal growth
Frank Meyskens, + M.D., Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry
   Effects of oxidative stress on gene expression; cancer chemoprevention
Robert K. Moyzis, + Ph.D., Professor of Biological Chemistry
    Human genome project and complex genetic disease
Edward L. Nelson, + M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry
    Tumor immunology, dendritic cell biology, and anti-tumor immunotherapeutics
Timothy F. Osborne, + Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Transcriptional regulation of human cholesterol biosynthesis and nutritional homeostasis

Ingrid K. Ruf, + M.D./Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Molecular mechanisms of Epstein-Barr Virus latency and pathogenesis
Eric J. Stanbridge, + Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
    Tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes in human cancer
Sheryl Tsai, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
    Drug design and biochemistry of cancer-related macromolecules
Doug Wallace, + Ph.D., Professor of Biological Chemistry and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
    Human mitochondrial genetics and molecular medicine
Rahul Warrior, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Development & Cell Biology
    Nuclear migration in development and disease; Transcriptional response to growth factor signaling
Tau-Mu Yi, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology
    G-protein signal transduction; cell polarization; Systems Biology.
Kyoko Yokomori, + Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry
    Gene expression and chromatin structure

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