City of Hope’s Department of Cancer Biology offers a multidisciplinary research and training environment in a number of scientific areas, including:
- radiation biology
- tumor cell biology
- molecular biology
- genetics
- epigenetics
- developmental biology
The department, which includes the divisions of
Biology,
Radiation Biology and
Tumor Cell Biology, focuses on understanding the basic mechanisms of genetics, gene expression and function, signaling pathways, mutagenesis, DNA repair and epigenetics as they relate to the development and progression of cancer. Researchers within the department collaborate with clinical and basic research programs within City of Hope and with other research centers nationally and internationally.
Gerd P. Pfeifer, Ph.D., Lester M. and Irene C. Finkelstein Chair in Biology, is professor and chair of the department as well as co-leader of City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Cancer Biology Program. He is renowned for his research pinpointing molecular changes that occur in the DNA of tumor cells. Most notably, his efforts helped identify the molecular link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Dr. Pfeifer’s research efforts are aimed towards developing and applying innovative technologies to detect and treat cancer.
Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., Binghui Shen, Ph.D., and
Judy Singer-Sam, Ph.D., scientific leaders in their fields, serve as associate chairs in the department and directors of the divisions of Tumor Cell Biology, Radiation Biology and Biology, respectively. Together, they and their teams of researchers explore mechanisms of cancer development (known as carcinogenesis) and aim to develop powerful approaches to cancer prevention and to improve diagnostic tools for detecting cancer early, when it is most treatable.
