John D. Minna, M.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and Pharmacology
Director, Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research

Adi F. Gazdar, M.D.
Professor of Pathology
Deputy Director of the Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology

The students would learn molecular genetic and cell biologic techniques to study genetic and epigenetic abnormalities leading to the development of lung and breast cancer. These studies also involve learning the clinically relevant questions to ask and plans for translating the results into the clinic. Current projects involve use of genome wide approaches to study the molecular pathogenesis of human cancers including expression profiling involving studies of tumors and preneoplastic tissues. Major questions involve identifying altered genes whose products are novel targets for therapy, molecular profiles for early diagnosis, and gene expression signatures for predicting tumor sensitivity and resistance to therapies.