Letter from the Chair

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide and is one of the most devastating illnesses encountered by patients and their families. Each year, more than 8 million men, women, and children die from this heterogeneous group of diseases and this toll is projected to rise more than 50% over the next two decades. Remarkably, while the cellular and molecular events that culminate in cancer have been intensively studied for over a century, the development of this disease remains one of the least well-understood problems in biology. 

The mission of the Department of Cancer Biology is to understand the molecular, cellular, and genetic basis of cancer at its most fundamental level, with the ultimate goal of reducing the burden of this disease. Our Department hosts 15 tenure-track faculty members and 5 affiliated faculty members whose cutting edge research programs span cancer genetics, cancer cell biology, angiogenesis, DNA damage response and genomic stability, genetically engineered animal models, oncogenic signaling and oncogene addiction, tumor dormancy, cell cycle deregulation, tumor metabolism, tumor suppressor networks, small animal imaging and computational biology. 

Our Department hosts some of the most vital academic research on our campus, and our faculty, students, and facilities are among the finest in the world. Welcome to the Department of Cancer Biology. 

Lewis A. Chodosh, M.D., Ph.D.
Perelman Professor and Chair, Department of Cancer Biology