Goals
- To provide rigorous, interdisciplinary education and training leading to a Ph.D. degree encompassing research that will increase knowledge for understanding, detecting, preventing, and treating cancer
- To develop the next generation of scientists capable of bench to bedside and bedside to bench research
- To prepare scientists as educators, communicators, mentors, and leaders in the field of cancer biology
- To develop scientists who demonstrate the highest standards of critical thinking, integrity, and ethical behavior
The objective of the Cancer Biology PhD Program is to prepare students for success in whichever career path they choose in or outside of academia. All students will receive outstanding bench training, training in scientific presentation and writing, and have opportunities for experiences outside the lab (e.g. teaching; internships; physician shadowing).
The Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program is unique at Wake Forest University in its exclusive focus on innovative basic and translational cancer research. Our primary faculty and co-faculty are a core attraction for graduate students to the program. Faculty/student interaction and collaboration are a critical part of our program, and the program is deliberately small to provide individual mentoring and teaching opportunities. The Cancer Biology Ph.D. Training program is directed by the faculty of the Cancer Biology Department. The research and training conducted by the Cancer Biology Department are an essential part of the NIH-supported Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (AHWFBCCC).
As one of the USA’s oldest National Cancer Institute-(NCI) designated cancer centers, the AHWFBCCC is dedicated to cutting edge research and patient care and has been the driving force in the rapid and sustained growth of cancer programs within the institution and region. The Cancer Biology Ph.D. Program plays a key role in the mission of the Institution to be a premier learning healthcare provider capable of leveraging scientific discovery into clinical applications for disease prevention, treatment, and overall improvement of patients’ quality of life.
Areas of Research
Cancer-focused scientific fields explored by faculty and trainees include:
- fundamental cancer biology (oncogenic signaling pathways, metabolism, redox pathways, metastases, cell death and survival pathways)
- drug development
- cancer physics (radiation sensitization; photothermal therapy; cancer imaging) and materials science (nanotechnology)
- pharmaceutics (drug delivery formulation, pharmacokinetics)
- bioengineering (tumor models; patient derived organoids)
- immunology (immunotherapy) and microbiome/cancer interactions
- multi-omic analysis of cancer (genomics, proteomics, lipidomics)
- survivorship/symptom mitigation (cancer/treatment induced pain, cachexia, dietary effects)
