Best Graduate Programs in Oncology and Cancer Biology in California

The Cancer Biology Ph.D. program was established in 1978 at Stanford University. During the past four decades, the understanding of cancer has increased dramatically with the discovery of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, pathways of DNA damage and repair, cell cycle regulation, angiogenesis and responses to hypoxia, and the molecular basis of metastasis, among others. In addition, methods of parallel analysis including genomic and proteomic approaches have begun to refine and redefine the taxonomy of cancer diagnosis. This explosion of basic and clinical science has, in turn, resulted in the first successful cancer chemotherapies and immunotherapies based on knowledge of specific molecular targets.

The PhD program in Cancer Biology and Genomics (CBG) focuses on training investigators in strategies to understand the mechanisms of cancer development and progression which includes cell biological and genomic approaches. The ultimate objective is to translate basic findings into diagnostics, treatments and ultimate cures. The program applies a multidisciplinary approach toward these goals, with the full realization that cancers in different organs represent different diseases. However all cancers relate to uncontrolled cell proliferation with many cancers having a strong genetic predisposition.

Sharabi, MD, PhD, is a board-certified radiation oncologist who specializes in treating prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, skin cancers, and cancers that affect the lung area He has also served on the National Cancer Institute clinical trials planning committee panels.

The Cancer Biology and Therapeutics (CBT) training program provides UCI graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with comprehensive, highly interdisciplinary training that includes cancer biology, the most current research methods, and a focus on translational science such as the development of novel cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. This foundation together with professional development activities produces well-trained experts armed to successfully attack the cancer problem from vantage points in both academia and industry. Additional support is provided by the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and its basic research arm, the UCI Cancer Research Institute.