After his undergraduate in biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. Sodji enrolled in the University System of Georgia MD/PhD program where he completed his Ph.D in medicinal chemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology and M.D at the Medical College of Georgia. He subsequently completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at Stanford University where he pursued the ABR Holman Research Pathway in the laboratory of Dr. Amato Giaccia, studying the impact of the complement system on the recruitment and cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells in the tumor microenvironment.
Cancer Biologist
Shuang (George) Zhao, MD
The Zhao Lab focuses on developing novel clinical biomarkers that predict response and resistance to specific therapies across cancers. These biomarkers can be used to better select which patients derive a benefit from treatment, which patients do not and can be spared potential toxicity, as well as monitor for emergence of resistance. It seeks to use advanced computational approaches and liquid biopsy technologies to better personalize the care of cancer patients.
Pippa Cosper, MD, PhD
Dr. Cosper’s main interest is in Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) induced cancers, such as cervical and head and neck cancer. Specifically, she is interested in how the virus induces different types of chromosomal instability (CIN) and how this affects radiation sensitivity, which may offer some insight into radiation sensitivity or resistance within HPV+ cancers.
Paul Sondel, MD, PhD
I am the Reed and Carolee Walker Professor of Pediatric Oncology. I grew up in Milwaukee and earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with guidance from bone marrow transplant pioneer Dr. Fritz Bach. I received my medical degree magna cum laude in 1977 from Harvard Medical School, where I began my research in tumor immunology. Following pediatric residencies in at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin, I joined the UW faculty in 1980 in the Departments of Pediatrics, Human Oncology and Genetics.
Randal Tibbetts, PhD
Current work in the Tibbetts lab is aimed at understanding how diverse growth-inhibitory signals, including DNA damage, cell-cell contact and growth factor depletion downregulate gene expression through the CREB pathway and how defects in this regulation contribute to tumorigenesis. It is also deciphering how alternative splicing influences DNA damage repair and tumor suppression using cellular and in vivo (mouse) models. The laboratory has developed several Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) models for the motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Paul Harari, MD
Dr. Paul Harari is chairman of the Department of Human Oncology, principal investigator for the Wisconsin H&N SPORE Grant and member of the UW Carbone Cancer Center Senior Leadership Council. His clinical and laboratory research is focused on improving treatment outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer.
Zachary Morris, MD, PhD
The Morris Lab is focused on using preclinical and translational research approaches to study the mechanisms whereby radiation may impact the anti-tumor response to immunotherapies. Their primary objective is to determine whether and how radiation may optimally be employed to simultaneously modulate the tumor immune microenvironment and to increase the susceptibility of tumor cells to immune response. They seek to test these approaches in early phase clinical studies where they may be further refined with the ultimate aim of improving survival and achieving cures in patients with metastatic cancers.
Albert van der Kogel, PhD
During my active career my research has focused on two main areas. The first is on the effects of radiation on normal tissues, particularly the central nervous system and the various factors that determine the tolerance of the spinal cord. My other research has aimed at overcoming radiation resistance mechanisms related to the tumor microenvironment, which are known to be mostly tumor hypoxia and proliferation. To study these aspects in a clinically relevant setting, my lab has developed a panel of patient-derived tumor xenografts that reflect the clinical heterogeneity of individual patients.
Deric Wheeler, PhD
The Wheeler lab uses state of the art molecular biology, proteomics and mouse modeling to understand how tumors become resistant to cancer drugs. Its goal is to identify unique and shared pathways that tumors use to circumvent therapy and translate these findings to the clinic to impact the lives of our patients.
Gopal Iyer, PhD
Professor Iyer’s laboratory fosters a multidisciplinary environment that bridges physics, chemistry and biology with the aim of training undergraduate, graduate and medical students towards aligning their interests in challenging questions in cancer. They constantly interact with biomedical engineers, medical and radiation oncologists and pathology experts to further our understanding of the clinical manifestations of the various stages of cancer.