Our goal for the Cancer Biology (CAB) training area is to foster your growth as a committed scientist, skilled in the molecular and cellular biology of this disease group. We guide you on your path to pursuing a long-term career in cancer research. Our themes include cancer gene signaling pathways, development and differentiation, invasion and metastasis, as well as disease focuses including breast cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, and melanoma. Our program also trains you in approaches aimed at translational research advances to the clinic, including advanced coursework in both basic and clinical cancer biology. CAB is a multidisciplinary training area (MTA) in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS).
Cancer Biology
Cancer biology is the anatomical and physiological investigation of cancer cells and processes that lead to the initiation and progression of the disease. Cancer biologists investigate genome integrity; growth factor signaling; cell fate pathways including apoptosis; invasion and metastasis; and immune surveillance of cancer cells.
Our curriculum trains you to be a skilled molecular and cellular biologist, able to pursue a career in cancer research. You will study cancer gene signaling pathways, development and differentiation, invasion and metastasis, and focus on diseases such as breast or prostate cancer, leukemia and melanoma.
We invite students from a variety of different backgrounds into our PhD programs. Working closely with our diverse faculty, we welcome your different perspectives as we integrate them into our solid academic research in cancer biology. Our students conduct research that is both comprehensive in scope and which addresses the practical clinical issues faced by physicians in preventing and treating cancer.
Students of our Cancer Biology training area are widely published early in their academic and professional careers.
Meet Our Co-Directors
Doris Germain, PhD, is a Professor in the Department Oncological Sciences, as well as Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology at ISMMS, and Co-Director of the Cancer Biology MTA. Her research focuses on breast cancer, using a combination of cell biology and mouse genetics approaches, to investigate the link between pregnancy and breast cancer and the role of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in breast cancer progression.
James J. Manfredi, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences and Co-Director of the Cancer Biology MTA. His research focuses on the molecular biology of the tumor suppressor p53 and how the p53 pathway can be used exploited to enhance cancer therapy.
Meet Our Faculty
Meet the accomplished faculty members of the Cancer Biology Graduate Training Area.
We provide an educational environment that encourages rigorous science, open minded investigation, and measured risk taking. You will participate in conferences that tap into the superb clinical resources at ISMMS as you collaborate with students, trainees, and faculty to develop deeper understandings, make new discoveries and develop new models for treating cancer. Our training area allows for a personalized approach to cancer biology, as you engage in team efforts to make scientific advances.