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

Frank Mccormick, PhD, FRS

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
None
Research Summary: 
New approaches to targeting Ras

Jj Miranda, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Spatial organization of viral genomes in the three-dimensional space of the nucleus. Chromatin regulation of viral transcription during cancer.

Mark Moasser, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Tyrosine kinase oncogenes in human cancer

Daniel Mordes, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in ALS and Dementia

Javid Moslehi, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Vascular & Cardiac Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Using Cardio-Oncology and Cardio-Immunology as platforms to understand cardiovascular signaling

Shaeri Mukherjee, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Virology & Microbial Pathogenesis
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Bacterial manipulation of host membrane transport pathways
Mentorship Development: 

4/12/19  Acknowleding and Negotiating the Mentee-Mentor Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab (Parnassus)

Pamela Munster, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
None

Maxence Nachury, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Mechanisms of signaling and trafficking at the primary cilium, biogenesis of extracellular vesicles.
Mentorship Development: 

12/19/19    ACRA: Setting Training Expectations for Trainees on the Academic Career Track (1.5 hours)
12/8/20    Setting Expectations with a "Welcome to the Lab' Letter (Parts 1 and 2)

Hideho Okada, MD, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Brain Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy

Ross Okimoto, MD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
The Okimoto lab aims to understand how transcriptional dysregulation leads to cancer growth and metastasis.

Michael Oldham, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Neurobiology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
We develop and apply novel experimental and computational strategies for studying the cellular and molecular organization of the developing and adult human brain in health and disease
Mentorship Development: 
  • DEI champion training (3/2022)
  • Setting training expectations for trainees on the academic career track (12/2019)

 

Barbara Panning, PhD

Primary Thematic Area: 
Developmental & Stem Cell Biology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
The Panning lab studies mammalian stem cell epigenetics, focusing on X-inactivation and chromatin modifiers.
Mentorship Development: 

4/26/19    Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS) with Sharon Milgram (Mission Bay)
10/20/20    Gathering in Community: a Training for Faculty and Staff

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