Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling

The UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center is an interdisciplinary initiative that combines basic science, clinical research, epidemiology/cancer control, and patient care throughout the University of California, San Francisco. The Center's mission is the discovery and evolution of new ideas and information about cancer, from basic research to clinical implementation.


UCSF's long tradition of excellence in cancer research includes, notably, Nobel Prize-winning work of J. Michael Bishop and Harold Varmus, who discovered cancer-causing oncogenes. Their work opened new doors for exploring genetic mistakes that cause cancer and formed the basis for some of the most important cancer research happening today.


Basic scientific research underpins all of our efforts to design and evaluate new tools to treat cancer patients everywhere. Hence, cancer research at UCSF encompasses studies on the regulation of the eukaryotic cell division cycle, exploration of the machinery and the control of programmed cell death (apoptosis), regulation of cellular lifespan and the acquisition of cellular immortality, the control of DNA repair, the role of the immune system in cancer initiation and progression, tumor angiogenesis, cell invasion and metastasis and the design and application of mouse models of human cancer. Information of the broad range of cancer research activities can be found at the Cancer Center webpage.

 

Participating Faculty

Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Studies of radiation as carcinogen in breast, and its application as a cancer treatment using mouse models and human tissues and cell cultures.

Paola Betancur, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Gene regulation in health and disease

Daniel Bikle, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Tissue / Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Research Summary: 
Regulation of cellular differentiation and function by calciotropic hormones

Trever Bivona, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Molecular characterization and precision treatment of solid cancers.

Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Stem Cells, Cancer, and Anti-tumor Immunity
Mentorship Development: 

4/29/19    Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS) with Sharon Milgram (Parnassus)
10/20/20    Gathering in Community: a Training for Faculty and Staff

Rohit Bose, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
We study tumor evolution, drug sensitization and oncogene network alterations in patients in order to improve precision medicine therapies for hormone-related and genitourinary cancers.
Mentorship Development: 

5/2021 - Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS)

Ben Braun, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Research Summary: 
Ras signaling in cancer stem cells

Peter Bruno, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
We use synthetic biology and high-throughput functional genetic screens to understand antigen presentation and T-cell recognition in the context of cancer and other diseases.

Julia Carnevale, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Our group uses novel gene engineering strategies to decode key genetic programs that we can target to rewire immune cells into effective cancer treatments.

Fred Chang, PhD, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Summary: 
We study the regulation of cell size and shape in fission yeast S. pombe
Mentorship Development: 

4/12/19    Acknowleding and Negotiating the Mentee-Mentor Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab (Parnassus)
4/29/19    Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS) with Sharon Milgram (Parnassus)
2/16/21   Three Truths & Three Tries: Facing & Overcoming Critical Social Justice Challenges at the Micro, Mezzo & Macro Levels

Jennifer Chen, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Tissue / Organ Biology & Endocrinology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Dr. Jennifer Y. Chen’s research program focuses on the development of novel antifibrotic therapies and biomarkers for patients with chronic liver disease.

Nam Woo Cho, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
The Cho Lab is focused on understanding principles of molecular and cellular interactions between cancer and immunity.

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