Cancer Biology and Cancer Stem Cells
Showing 41-60 of 78 Results
-
Seung K. Kim M.D., Ph.D.
KM Mulberry Professor, Professor of Developmental Biology, of Medicine (Endocrinology) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the development of pancreatic islet cells using molecular, embryologic and genetic methods in several model systems, including mice, pigs, human pancreas, embryonic stem cells, and Drosophila. Our work suggests that critical factors required for islet development are also needed to maintain essential functions of the mature islet. These approaches have informed efforts to generate replacement islets from renewable sources for diabetes.
-
Mark Krasnow
Paul and Mildred Berg Professor
Current Research and Scholarly Interests- Lung development and stem cells
- Neural circuits of breathing and speaking
- Lung diseases including lung cancer
- New genetic model organism for biology, behavior, health and conservation -
Calvin Kuo
Maureen Lyles D'Ambrogio Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study cancer biology, intestinal stem cells (ISC), and angiogenesis. We use primary organoid cultures of diverse tissues and tumor biopsies for immunotherapy modeling, oncogene functional screening and stem cell biology. Angiogenesis projects include blood-brain barrier regulation, stroke therapeutics and anti-angiogenic cancer therapy. ISC projects apply organoid culture and ko mice to injury-inducible vs homeostatic stem cells and symmetric division mechanisms.
-
David Kurtz
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Oncology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsImplementation of noninvasive detection of malignancies in the clinic remains difficult due to both technical and clinical challenges. These include necessary improvements in sensitivity and specificity of biomarkers, as well as demonstration of clinical utility of these assays. My research focuses on technical development and implementation of assays to detect and track cancers in order to facilitate personalized disease management.
-
Jin Billy Li
Professor of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Li Lab is primarily interested in RNA editing mediated by ADAR enzymes. We co-discovered that the major function of RNA editing is to label endogenous dsRNAs as "self" to avoid being recognized as "non-self" by MDA5, a host innate immune dsRNA sensor, leading us to pursue therapeutic applications in cancer, autoimmune diseases, and viral infection. The other major direction of the lab is to develop technologies to harness endogenous ADAR enzymes for site-specific transcriptome engineering.
-
Joseph (Joe) Lipsick
Professor of Pathology and of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsFunction and evolution of the Myb oncogene family; function and evolution of E2F transcriptional regulators and RB tumor suppressors; epigenetic regulation of chromatin and chromosomes; cancer genetics.
-
Kyle Loh
Associate Professor of Developmental Biology (Stem Cell)
BioHow the richly varied cell-types in the human body arise from one embryonic cell is a marvel and mystery. We have mapped how human embryonic stem cells develop into over twenty different types of cells. This roadmap allowed us to generate enriched populations of human brain, blood, blood vessel, bone, and other cells in a Petri dish from embryonic stem cells, with implications for developmental biology, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine. Additionally, we have an emerging interest in exploring deadly biosafety level 4 viruses together with our collaborators.
Kyle attended the County College of Morris and Rutgers, and received his Ph.D. from Stanford (working with Irving Weissman), with fellowships from the Hertz Foundation, National Science Foundation and Davidson Institute for Talent Development. He then continued as a Siebel Investigator, and later, as an faculty member at Stanford. Kyle is a Packard Fellow, Pew Scholar, Human Frontier Science Program Young Investigator and Baxter Foundation Faculty Scholar. His research has been recognized by the NIH Director's Early Independence Award, ISSCR Early Career Impact Award, Forbes 30 Under 30, Harold Weintraub Graduate Award, Hertz Foundation Thesis Prize and A*STAR Investigatorship. -
Sydney X. Lu
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology)
BioSydney Lu is an assistant professor and physician-scientist in the Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine with a broad interest in both normal and abnormal RNA processing in the context of normal physiology and disease states. The laboratory studies translational questions regarding the mechanistic basis of RNA processing abnormalities in malignant blood disorders, their implications for leukemogenesis and cancer biology, as well as resultant therapeutic opportunities.
As a physician, Sydney’s group is particularly focused on dissecting RNA processing abnormalities in primary patient samples and disease-relevant preclinical model systems. Lab members employ a variety of ‘wet-lab’ and computational approaches to study transcriptome abnormalities in (1) states of immune dysfunction, (2) myeloid blood cancers such as myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia, and (3) lymphoid blood cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Additional projects are focused on novel therapeutics, including multiple targeted agents which modulate RNA processing, for the selective treatment of these diseases.
Sydney’s research is/has been supposed by grant funding from the National Cancer Institute, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Aplastic Anemia & Myelodysplastic Syndromes International Foundation, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Paula and Rodger Riney Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Gabrielles Angel Foundation for Cancer Research, and the Stanford Cancer Institute. -
Ravi Majeti MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor and Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Stem Cell Institute)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Majeti lab focuses on the molecular/genomic characterization and therapeutic targeting of leukemia stem cells in human hematologic malignancies, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Our lab uses experimental hematology methods, stem cell assays, genome editing, and bioinformatics to define and investigate drivers of leukemia stem cell behavior. As part of these studies, we have led the development and application of robust xenotransplantation assays for human hematopoietic cells.
-
M. Peter Marinkovich, MD
Associate Professor of Dermatology
On Leave from 05/01/2025 To 04/30/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Marinkovich lab studies the function of epithelial extracellular matrix molecules, including integrins, collagens and laminins in epithelial development and carcinoma progression. We apply our discoveries in this area towards development of molecular therapies for carcinomas, hair disease and inherited epithelial adhesive disorders.
-
Roeland Nusse
Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur laboratory studies Wnt signaling in development and disease. We found recently that Wnt proteins are unusual growth factors, because they are lipid-modified. We discovered that Wnt proteins promote the proliferation of stem cells of various origins. Current work is directed at understanding how Wnt signals lead to the proliferation of stem cells and on understanding Wnt signaling during repair and regeneration after tissue injury.
-
Lucy Erin O'Brien
Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMany adult organs tune their functional capacity to variable levels of physiologic demand. Adaptive organ resizing breaks the allometry of the body plan that was established during development, suggesting that it occurs through different mechanisms. Emerging evidence points to stem cells as key players in these mechanisms. We use the Drosophila midgut, a stem-cell based organ analogous to the vertebrate small intestine, as a simple model to uncover the rules that govern adaptive remodeling.
-
Anthony Oro, MD, PhD
Eugene and Gloria Bauer Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab uses the skin to answer questions about epithelial stem cell biology, differentiation and carcinogenesis using genomics, genetics, and cell biological techniques. We have studied how hedgehog signaling regulates regeneration and skin cancer, and how tumors evolve to develop resistance. We study the mechanisms of early human skin development using human embryonic stem cells. These fundamentals studies provide a greater understanding of epithelial biology and novel disease therapeutics.
-
Dmitri Petrov
Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEvolution of genomes and population genomics of adaptation and variation
-
Jonathan Pollack
Professor of Pathology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch in the Pollack lab centers on translational genomics, with a focus on prostate diseases. The lab employs next-generation sequencing, single-cell and spatial genomics, gene editing, and human cell/tissue-based modeling to uncover disease mechanisms, biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Current areas of emphasis include benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, and rare/neglected cancer types (ameloblastoma, liposarcoma).
-
Matthew Porteus
Sutardja Chuk Professor of Definitive and Curative Medicine
BioDr. Porteus was raised in California and was a local graduate of Gunn High School before completing A.B. degree in “History and Science” at Harvard University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and wrote an thesis entitled “Safe or Dangerous Chimeras: The recombinant DNA controversy as a conflict between differing socially constructed interpretations of recombinant DNA technology.” He then returned to the area and completed his combined MD, PhD at Stanford Medical School with his PhD focused on understanding the molecular basis of mammalian forebrain development with his PhD thesis entitled “Isolation and Characterization of TES-1/DLX-2: A Novel Homeobox Gene Expressed During Mammalian Forebrain Development.” After completion of his dual degree program, he was an intern and resident in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and then completed his Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship in the combined Boston Chidlren’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute program. For his fellowship and post-doctoral research he worked with Dr. David Baltimore at MIT and CalTech where he began his studies in developing homologous recombination as a strategy to correct disease causing mutations in stem cells as definitive and curative therapy for children with genetic diseases of the blood, particularly sickle cell disease. Following his training with Dr. Baltimore, he took an independent faculty position at UT Southwestern in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry before again returning to Stanford in 2010 as an Associate Professor. During this time his work has been the first to demonstrate that gene correction could be achieved in human cells at frequencies that were high enough to potentially cure patients and is considered one of the pioneers and founders of the field of genome editing—a field that now encompasses thousands of labs and several new companies throughout the world. His research program continues to focus on developing genome editing by homologous recombination as curative therapy for children with genetic diseases but also has interests in the clonal dynamics of heterogeneous populations and the use of genome editing to better understand diseases that affect children including infant leukemias and genetic diseases that affect the muscle. Clinically, Dr. Porteus attends at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital where he takes care of pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
-
Stanley Qi
Associate Professor of Bioengineering
BioStanley Qi (publishing as Lei S. Qi) is a pioneer in the field of genome engineering and the architect of the foundational technologies that transitioned CRISPR from a "cutting" tool into a universal platform for Programmable Biology. As the inventor of CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa), Qi established the first methods for the precise, reversible, and targeted regulation of the human genome without altering the DNA sequence.
The Qi Lab integrates scalable genomic perturbation with live-cell and super-resolution imaging and computation-guided design to redefine the boundaries of cellular control. Under Dr. Qi’s leadership, the group has fundamentally expanded the genome engineering toolbox, evolving CRISPR from a single editing tool into a multidimensional platform for the precise control of dynamic and spatial cell states. This work includes establishing foundational technologies and architectures for precise epigenetic editing, multiplexed regulation of the transcriptome, programmable 3D genome organization, and spatial control of RNA logistics. By pioneering real-time visualization of chromatin dynamics and RNA in living cells, the lab provides an unprecedented window into the fundamental "control principles of life."
This principle-driven technology lineage has moved into the clinic, with the lab's compact epigenetic editor currently in first-in-human clinical testing for FSHD muscular dystrophy (NCT06907875). This milestone represents a core mission of the lab: translating foundational engineering into next-generation therapeutics that act predictably as dynamic, complex systems.
Beyond single-cell control, the Qi Lab is building a framework for synthetic cell–cell communication, with a particular emphasis on the bidirectional interplay between immune cells and neurons. The lab’s goal is to move beyond describing molecular parts to discovering fundamental control principles in living systems: how regulatory landscapes create stable states and memory, how spatial genome–RNA organization shapes dynamic responses, and how engineered cell–cell interactions can generate emergent multicellular behaviors.
By integrating computational design with experimental biology, Dr. Qi aims to identify the generalizable rules linking molecular programs to systems-level physiology. He is a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and an Institute Scholar at the Sarafan ChEM-H, and is dedicated to shaping the technical and ethical frameworks that will define the future of human genome engineering. -
Stephen Quake
Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering, of Applied Physics and, by courtesy, of Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSingle molecule biophysics, precision force measurement, micro and nano fabrication with soft materials, integrated microfluidics and large scale biological automation.
