Tumor Cell Biology - Carcinogenesis T32 Training Grant
The Carcinogenesis Training Program, funded by an Institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI T32 CA009560), provides comprehensive laboratory research training to seven diverse predoctoral students per year in current principles of basic and translational cancer biology. The program promotes interdisciplinary interactions among students, postdoctoral fellows, clinicians and faculty scientists in oncology research, with complementary strengths in signal transduction, cell adhesion and motility, angiogenesis, viral oncogenesis, tumor microenvironment, therapeutic strategies, translational studies, chemoprevention, immunotherapy, metabolism, epigenetics and cancer genomics.
Program highlights include intensive research in progress meetings with program faculty, focused “nanocourses” in emerging cancer research fields, cross-disciplinary translational career and communication skills development, and additional funding for travel to scientific meetings and for laboratory supplies.
Competitive candidates for the program include students with an interdisciplinary interest in cancer biology who have matriculated into the Driskill Graduate Program (DGP), the Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program (IBiS), the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), or other PhD programs. Students are eligible to apply following selection of a participating thesis advisor and cancer research thesis topic. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and must first apply to DGP, IBiS or other appropriate graduate programs at Northwestern.
A request for nominations to fill available training positions is posted and sent to program preceptors each year in the spring, for appointments beginning in fall of the following year (eg, applications submitted in 2024 are considered for appointment in the fall of 2025, contingent upon successful completion of appropriate coursework and the PhD candidate qualifying exam).
Applications must include a letter of nomination from your thesis advisor, a Biosketch or CV, a statement describing your research project, and a statement of the cancer research purpose, including your future career goals and suitability for the program. Applications are reviewed by the program steering committee and candidates are invited to interview in late summer/early fall. The program welcomes, encourages, and supports application by individuals from underrepresented groups and diverse backgrounds.
For additional information, contact Kathleen Green, PhD.
Program Directors
Kathleen Green, PhD
Program Director
Professor, Department of Pathology
Function and regulation of intercellular junctions in tumor progression
Vadim Backman, PhD
Program Co-Director
Sachs Family Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine
Biophotonics, Computational Genomics, Modeling, and Cancer Biology
Jodi L. Johnson, PhD
Scientific Director
Basic Research Program Coordinator
Research Assistant Professor of Pathology and Dermatology
Gina Kirsammer, PhD
Scientific Director
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Oncology)
Program Preceptors
Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology
Sarki Abdulkadir, MD, PhD
Professor of Urology
Mechanisms of Prostate Cancer Initiation, Progress, and Treatment
Xiaomin Bao, PhD
Assistant Professor of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and Dermatology
Molecular determinants of stemness
Issam Ben-Sahra, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Tumor Metabolism
Marcelo Bonini, PhD
Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Oncology)
Association Between Redox Status and Tumor Cell Behavior with a Focus on Breast Cancer
Paul Burridge, PhD
Assistant Professor in Pharmacology
induced pluripotent stem cells to study cancer progression and drug resistance
Navdeep Chandel, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
Mitochondria signaling and cancer
Jaehyuk Choi, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Molecular biology of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
Deyu Fang, PhD
Professor of Pathology
Molecular Mechanisms in Immune Regulation, Inflammation, and Cancer
Daniel Foltz, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Chromosome instability and cancer
Ruli Gao, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
High Throughput Single Cell DNA and RNA Sequencing to Study Cancer Heterogeneity
Cara Gottardi, PhD
Associate Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary Division
Regulation of catenin-dependent signaling and adhesion
Yogesh Goyal, PhD
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and McCormick School of Engineering
Theory, Computation, and Single-cell Analysis to Track Tumor Cell Plasticity and Fate Choices
Amy Heimberger, MD
Professor of Neurological Surgery
Elucidating Mechanisms of Tumor-mediated Immune Suppression in Neurological Cancers, Translational Research
Craig Horbinski, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology/Neurological Surgery
Underlying Basis of Brain Cancer and How Molecular Diagnostics Could Enhance Patient Care
Luisa Iruela-Arispe, PhD
Professor and Chair of Cell and Developmental Biology
Morphogenesis and Homeostasis of Vasculature, Role of VEGF and Notch Signaling in Blood Vessels in Cancer
Julie Kim, PhD
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Determining the Role of Sex Hormone Receptors in Endometrial and Breast Cancer
Laimonis Laimins, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology-Immunology
Human papillomaviruses and cancer
Monica Laronda, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Reproductive Biology, Endocrinology
Joshua Leonard, PhD
Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Approaches in Synthetic Biology, Protein Engineering, and Computational Biology to Develop Cancer Therapies
Huiping Liu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine
Molecular mechanisms of metastasis
Daniela Matei, MD
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Defining Mechanisms Driving Ovarian Cancer Relapse and Metastasis
Marcus Peter, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
Micro RNAs in cancer progression
Leonidas Platanias, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine
Cytokines and signal transduction pathways
Karla Satchell, PhD
Professor of Microbiology-Immunology
Secreted factors and immune regulation
Evan Scott, PhD
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Immunological Processes Contributing to Cancer and Therapeutic Approaches Using Engineering- and Materials-based Strategies to Target Key Inflammatory Cell Populations
Ali Shilatifard, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Epigenetics of hematologic malignancies
Vipul Shukla, PhD
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Ronen Sumagin, PhD
Associate Professor of Pathology
Roles for Innate Immune Cells in Mucosal Inflammation and Anti-tumor Immunity
C. Shad Thaxton, MD PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Urology
Nanotechnology for cancer therapy
Theresa Walunas, PhD
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Improving Health for Patients Receiving Cancer Immunotherapy Using Immunological, Genomic, Informatics, and Implementation Science Methods
Sadie Wignall, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences
Studying Meiosis to Define Proper Chromosome Partitioning and Identifying Drug Targets to Block Cancer Cell Proliferation
Gayle Woloschak, PhD
Professor, Department of Radiology
Nanocomposites; radiation sensitivity
Rui Yi, PhD
Professor of Pathology
Gene Expression Involved in Activation of Skin Stem Cells in Homeostasis, Pathogenesis, Aging and Cancer
Feng Yue, PhD
Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Define the Impact of Genetic Variations in Cancer
Current Students
Adrian Carcamo
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Laboratory of Rui Yi, PhD
Nicolas Chamberlain
Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program
Laboratory of Xiaomin Bao, PhD
Annmarie Dominguez
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Laboratory of Luisa Iruela-Arispe, PhD
Grace Foley
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Laboratory of J. Julie Kim, PhD
Nicole McGrath
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Laboratory of Marcelo Bonini, PhD
Shashwat Tripathi
Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Medical Science Training Program
Laboratory of Amy Heimberger, MD, PhD
Josiah Wong
Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences
Laboratory of Feng Yue, PhD