Committee on Cancer Biology

Chair

Barbara Kee, Pathology

Professors

Erin Adams, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Nishant Agrawal, Surgery
Maria-Luisa Alegre, Medicine-Rheumatology
Eric C. Beyer, Pediatrics
Eugene B. Chang, Medicine
Chin-Tu Chen, Radiology
Jing Chen, Medicine
Steven Chmora, Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Marcus Ramsay Clark, Medicine
Susan Cohn, Pediatrics
Glyn Dawson, Pediatrics
Bryan Dickinson, Chemistry
Mary Eileen Dolan, Medicine
Wei Du, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Gini Fleming, Medicine, Hematology, Oncology
Thomas Gajewski, Medicine
Margaret Gardel, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
Michael A. Glotzer, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
Geoffrey Greene, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Howard Halpern, Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Chuan He, Chemistry
Yu-Ying He, Medicine- Dermatology
Jeffrey Hubbell, Pritzker Institute for Molecular Engineering
Barbara Kee, Pathology
Justin P. Kline, Medicine
Stephen Kron, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
Sonia S. Kupfer, Medicine
Ernst Lengyel, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Mark Lingen, Pathology
Kay Macleod, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Yuxuan Miao, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Scott Andre Oakes, Pathology
Olufunmilayo Olopade, Medicine
Eric Pamer, Medicine-Infectious Diseases
Marsha Rosner, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Hans Schreiber, Pathology
Walter Stadler, Medicine
Wendy Stock, Medicine, Medicine
Melody Swartz, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
Wei-Jen Tang, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Eric Thompson, Neurological Surgery
Ralph R. Weichselbaum, Radiation and Cellular Oncology
Amittha Wickrema, Medicine
Yingming Zhao, Ben May Department for Cancer Research

Associate Professors

Mark Abe, Pediatrics
Mark Applebaum, Pediatrics
Lev Becker, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Bruce Bissonnette, Medicine
Matthew Brady, Medicine
Mengjie Chen, Medicine-Genetic Medicine
Jason X. Cheng, Pathology
Jill de Jong, Pediatrics
Dianne Deplewski, Pediatrics
Nickolai Dulin, Medicine-Pulmonary and Critical Care
Xin He, Human Genetics
Tong-Chuan He, Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine
Jun Huang, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
James LaBelle, Pediatrics
Megan McNerney, Pathology
Raymond Moellering, Chemistry
Akash Patnaik, Medicine
Alexander Pearson, Medicine, Hematology and Oncology
Ronald S. Rock, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Peter Savage, Pathology
Russell Szmulewitz, Medicine
Michael Thirman, Medicine
Xiaoyang Wu, Ben May Department for Cancer Research

Assistant Professors

Kenneth Bader, Radiology
Anindita Basu, Medicine-Genetic Medicine
Sridevi Challa, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Huanhuan Chen, Pritzker Institute for Molecular Engineering
Nicholas Chevrier, Pritzker Institute for Molecular Engineering
Martina Damo, Medicine
Daria Esterhazy, Pathology
Brandon Faubert, Medicine
Joseph Franses, Medicine
Evgeny Izumchenko, Medicine
Aly Khan, Family Medicine
Andrew Koh, Pathology
Juan Mendoza, Pritzker Institute for Molecular Engineering
Alexander Muir, Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Andrea Piunti, Pediatrics
Janane Rahbani, Medicine
Caner Saygin, Medicine
Simon Schwoerer, Medicine
Randy F. Sweis, Medicine
Joshua Weinstein, Medicine
Lixing Yang, Ben May Department of Cancer Research

The Committee on Cancer Biology (CCB) provides multidisciplinary and integrated training in cancer biology with an emphasis on innovation and critical thinking in cancer research. The program provides doctoral students with the most up-to-date knowledge and research training with the goal of preparing students for leadership and research careers in academia, industry, clinical research, science journalism, advocacy and policy and other relevant areas of the biomedical workforce. The program prepares students to conduct research by offering a core curriculum that focuses on multiple aspects of cancer biology, including molecular mechanisms of cancer, tumor progression and metastasis, autophagy and tumor metabolism, cancer genomics, computational approaches and big data analysis, mechanisms of drug resistance and tumor heterogeneity, in addition to translational research approaches. With 60 faculty members from across the University of Chicago with diverse interests in all of these research areas, students have a broad choice of research concentrations to select from for their thesis research project.

The CCB is committed to fostering interactions amongst graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty, and has a consistent track record of success in mentorship with many trainees publishing their work in outstanding journals and going on to run their own research labs. This is achieved through our core curriculum, a weekly cancer biology seminar series, journal clubs, student research presentations, group research meetings, an annual retreat and symposia. All of our students attend the AACR meeting in their third year of graduate school and numerous other opportunities are available to our students to present their data at international meetings and symposia. Our dedicated program in cancer biology is one of the most established in the country and is supported by an NCI training grant in addition to valuable support from foundations allowing us to continue to recruit and train the next generation of expert cancer biologists.

In addition to formal course work, the program sponsors a student and postdoctoral research presentation seminar and an annual program retreat in which students and trainees present their research findings. In addition, the program sponsors a seminar program that brings speakers of international renown to campus. Students and trainees also have the opportunity to attend national meetings and cancer biology workshops off campus. Through the auspices of the Ben May Department for Cancer Research, the Section of Hematology/Oncology, and the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center), there are several additional seminar series and a clinical cancer research/basic science research translational conference. Thus, there is a thriving, interactive community of cancer researchers.

Admission

Prospective students interested in obtaining the Ph.D. in cancer biology should submit an application to the Biological Sciences Division by December 1st of each year; indicate their cluster of interest as Biomedical Sciences and select Cancer Biology as their proposed degree program.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Ph.D. requirements include:

Completion of 7 course credits consisting of basic science, cancer biology and elective courses
A preliminary examination
A qualifying exam involving a thesis proposal
A dissertation based on original research
A final thesis examination