Cancer is complex disease with multiple steps in its pathogenesis and variability depending on the tissue of origin. Our understanding of cancer has reached new heights with the discovery of fundamental aspects of cell and molecular biology combined with advances in the understanding of the process of tumorigenesis. The identification of oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, pathways of DNA damage and repair, cell cycle regulation, growth factors, angiogenesis, responses to
hypoxia, and structural biology have provided exciting new insights into the development and progression of cancer. Technological advancements in genomics, proteomics, and tissue arrays have refined cancer diagnosis, leading to the development of successful cancer chemotherapies and immunotherapies based on the knowledge of specific molecular targets. The Molecular and Cellular Cancer Biology graduate track offers an exciting and stimulating academic environment to pursue interdisciplinary cancer research focused on utilizing cutting edge technologies to make profound basic science discoveries that will lead to the next generation of sensitive diagnostics and specific therapeutics.
The primary objective of the Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program is to provide the students with a strong educational experience combined with modern research training that will enable them to make significant contributions to the understanding of this complex disease. The University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, its core facilities, researchers and physicians provide a state of the art environment for conducting both basic and clinical cancer research.
During the first one and a half years students will attend structured courses designed to provide a broad understanding of the molecular, genetic, cell biological and pathobiological aspects of cancer, in addition to a grasp of the current state of clinical diagnosis and treatment of human cancers. All students are expected to complete three research rotations with CB faculty selected by the student. By the beginning of the second year, each student should have chosen his/her research advisor and begun work on his/her dissertation project. A qualifying examination must be completed by each student the end of second year. Students in the program typically complete the Ph.D. work in four to five years.
There are approximately 60 faculty members in our campus with interest in various aspects of molecular and cellular pathological changes that convert a normal cell into a tumor cell. The CB faculty members are interested in various aspects of fundamental cell and cancer biology including but not limited to:
- Gene transcription
- Translation
- Structural biology
- RNA and protein instability
- Genomic instabilities
- Mechanisms of Signal transduction
- Growth factor biology
- Nuclear and cytoplasmic export mechanisms
- Recombination
- DNA damage and repair
- Carcinogenesis
- Cell cycle
- Cell differentiation
- Tumor suppressor genes
- Genetic mutations
- Cancer genetics
- Radiation induced Cancers
- Apoptosis
- Metastasis
- Viral and cellular oncogenes
- Hormonal control of tumor growth
- Angiogenesis
Cancer Biology Track Faculty
Contact information:
Toni M. Antalis, PhD
Professor
Track Director, Cancer Biology
Phone: 410-706-8222
Fax: 410-706-8121
Email: tantalis@som.umaryland.edu