RESEARCH

 

Hematology

Jane Anne Nohl Division Of Hematology and Center For The Study Of Blood Diseases

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Supported by more than $60M in endowments, the members of the Jane Anne Nohl Division of Hematology and Center for the study of Blood Diseases are conducting research in several areas of non-malignant and malignant hematology, cellular therapies and bone marrow transplantation. The Division has special interest in basic, translational and clinical research in the areas of adoptive cellular therapy (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T and NK cells), oncolytic viruses, molecular pathogenesis of blood cancers, complement-mediated disorders, cancer associated thrombosis and new drug development. The Division has developed several next generation CAR-T and CAR-NK platforms for both blood cancers and solid tumors and is already a world’s leader in next generation of cell therapies. The members of the Division are also involved in innovative investigator-initiated and National Cooperative Groups (e.g., SWOG, AMC) sponsored clinical studies in both non-malignant and malignant hematology and are planning to initiate several next generation cell therapy (CAR-T and CAR-NK) trials targeting blood cancers and solid tumors in the coming years.

Research Labs

HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES

  • Preet M. Chaudhary, MD, PhD, Professor and Chief of Hematology and Director of Blood and Marrow Transplant. Research Interests include: next generation Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells (CAR-T), next generation Chimeric Antigen Receptor NK cells (CAR-NK), novel assays for assaying the expression and activity of CAR-T cells, HIV-associated malignancies, and allogeneic stem cell transplant.
     

  • Yali Dou, PhD, Professor of Medicine. Research interests include: epigenetic regulation of gene expression, and role of MLL/KMT2 family of histone methyltransferases in development of cancer.

  • Parkash Gill, MD, Professor of Medicine. Research interests include: target validation and novel therapeutics, tumor Blood vessel biology, Eph-Ephrin pathway, Ras pathway, VEGF pathway, Notch-DLL4 in tumor vessel, GRP78 in cancer, Axl receptor kinase in cancer, Tetraspanin18 biology, and Kaposi’s Sarcoma and KSHV.

  • Kevin Kelly, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Assistant Director of Clinical Investigations Support Office. Research interests include: targeted drug development for hematologic malignancies, oncolytic viruses for treatment of myeloma and study of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment (TIME).

  • Karrune “Winston” Woan, MD, PhD- Assistant Professor of Medicine. Research interests include: iPSC-NK cells for the treatment of blood cancers and allogeneic stem cell transplant.

NON-MALIGNANT HEMATOLOGY

  • Howard Liebman, MD, Professor of Medicine. Research interests include: cancer thrombosis and immune thrombocytopenia.

Clinical Research

HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES

  • Abdullah Ladha, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: clinical research in acute leukemia and allogeneic stem cell transplant.

  • Ann Mohrbacher, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine. Research Interests include: microtransplantation and clinical trials in myeloma/lymphoma.

  • George Yaghmour, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: allogeneic stem cell transplant/cellular therapy/alternative graft/half match graft -immune recovery post allogeneic transplant, GVHD; molecular and drug development and early phase investigator initiating studies for targeted therapy, immunotherapy  in acute leukemia, MDS  and MPN disorders.

  • Zaw Myint, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine. Research interests include: clinical research in autologous stem cell transplantation, plasma cell dyscrasias, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and chronic leukemias.

  • Raghuveer Ranganathan, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests: include CAR-T therapy.

  • Eric Tam, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: clinical research in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant, graft versus host disease and acute leukemia.

  • Anil Tulpule, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine. Research interest includes: clinical trials in lymphoma.

 

NON-MALIGNANT HEMATOLOGY

  • Casey O’Connell, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: myeloproliferative neoplasms, cancer-associated thrombosis, and myelodysplastic syndrome, and rare hematologic disorders.

  • Caitlin O’Neill, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: myeloproliferative neoplasms and idiopathic erythrocytosis.

  • Caroline Piatek, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine. Research interests include: clinical research in cancer-associated thrombosis and immune cytopenias.

  • Ilene Weitz, MD, Professor of Medicine. Research interests include clinical research in complement disorders (PNH, aHUS, cold agglutinin disease, TMA/TTP), sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and immune disorders (aplastic anemia, ITP, AIHA).

Medical Oncology

The Division of Medical Oncology places an emphasis on translational research that serves the diverse population of Southern California. To develop these capabilities, fundamental concepts of molecular biology and research design are taught to inform and develop research projects that have the potential to help the lives of our community. This approach has been predicated on knowledge of anticancer drug resistance, increased understanding of the genes associated with familial and sporadic patterns of malignancy, the immunologic basis of tumor response and resistance, and a more precise assessment of the pharmacology of novel anticancer compounds.

Over 250 faculty members conduct multi-disciplinary research ranging from preventive care and cancer control, to clinical and translational studies, to basic research in the molecular biology of cancer. As one of the first NCI designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation, NCCC has a strong tradition of scholarship supported by state-of-the-art laboratories, vivaria, shared core facilities, informatics support, and computing.

As trainees in the division of Medical Oncology, fellows have the opportunity to be involved in laboratory-based projects in various research areas, such as immunotherapy, biomarker discovery, drug development, and tumor microenvironment. Fellows will be able to participate in clinical research projects involving design of clinical trial protocols, writing medical review articles, and clinical data analysis. Projects related to improving the quality of life of cancer patients and alleviating the negative psychological effects of cancer therapy and the disease itself represent another research opportunity during their fellowship training.  

Trainees in the fellowship program regularly interact with many faculty investigators on the wards, in the laboratories, and at numerous conferences, such as NCCC Grand Rounds, programmatic retreats, and seminars. The fellows are encouraged to collaborate with faculty and are guided toward productive involvement in their research, building upon their mentor-mentee partnership.

Medical Oncology Faculty Research Areas

BREAST

Priya Jayachandran, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine; Director of LAC Breast Medical Oncology and Genomics

  • Treatment of Breast Malignancies

  • Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials in Breast Oncology

  • Identification of Novel Predictive and Prognostic Biomarkers

  • Improving Access to Care

Anastasia Martynova, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Breast Cancer Treatment and Prevention

  • High risk breast cancer patients

  • Cancer immunology and immuno-oncology

  • Early phase clinical trials and drug development

  • Gynecological malignancies

Evanthia Roussos Torres, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Treatment of breast malignancies

  • Translational research in breast immune-oncology

  • Investigation of tumor immune microenvironment for novel therapeutic combinations in multiple subtypes of breast cancer and in colon cancer

  • Investigation of differences in immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments in breast versus breast metastatic sites and in different racial backgrounds

Darcy Spicer, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine; Chief, Division of Medical Oncology; Co-Director, Lynne Cohen Clinic

  • Pilot study of deslorelin, estradiol and testosterone in women at high risk of breast cancer to reduce breast density to enhance mammographic screening

  • Phase II randomized study of paclitaxel versus paclitaxel + PSC833 for advanced breast cancer

  • NSABP Study of tamoxifen and raloxifene for breast cancer prevention

  • SWOG breast cancer treatment studies

Daphne Stewart, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Breast Cancer

  • Gynecologic Cancer: Ovarian, Endometrial, Cervical

  • Clinical trials of novel therapeutics in women’s cancers

  • Cancer genetics predicting risk for recurrence and guidance for therapy

Danielle Sterrenberg, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Specialize in the diagnosis and management of oncologic conditions, including breast cancer and benign blood disorders

GI

Sandra Algaze, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine; Director of LAC GI Medical Oncology

  • Gastrointestinal malignancies

  • Translational studies identifying novel pathways of carcinogenesis, metastasis, and treatment resistance as well as predictive and prognostic biomarkers of disease

  • Clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutic agents and combinations, and molecular predictors of response and outcomes

  • Understanding screening and outcome disparities in gastrointestinal malignancies, community engagement and increasing diversity in clinical trials

Anthony El-Khoueiry, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine; Chair, Norris Cancer Center CISO

  • Drug development in GI malignancies with focus on hepatobiliary cancers

  • Drug development/phase I trials in patients with advanced solid tumors

  • Design and conduct of clinical trials in GI oncology

  • Translational research focused on determining prognostic and predictive molecular markers in patients with GI malignancies

Steven Grossman, MD, Professor of Medicine; Chair, The Ronald H. Bloom Family in Cancer Research; Physician-in-Chief in Cancer, Norris Cancer Center

  • Biomarkers for early detection of pancreatic cancer

  • Developmental therapeutics/novel combination strategies in pancreatic and lung cancer

  • Preventive therapeutics in pancreatic cancer

  • Metabolic reprogramming in solid tumor therapeutics

Diana Hanna, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Gastrointestinal Cancers

  • Pancreatic Cancers

Karen Haiber, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Diagnosis and management of different types of cancer and blood disorders

  • Gastrointestinal Cancers

Syma Iqbal, MD, Associate Professor in Clinical Medicine

  • Gastrointestinal malignancies

  • Clinical trials evaluating novel agents and molecular predictors of outcome

Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, Professor of Medicine; Chair, J. Terrence Lanni in Gastrointestinal Cancer Research; Co-Director, USC Center for Molecular Pathway and Drug Discovery; Co-Director, USC Norris Cancer Center for Cancer Drug Development

  • Identification of predictive and prognostic biomarker using NGS, RNAseq and GWAS data sets

  • Single Cell Molecular Characterization

  • Identifying molecular pathways associated with metastatic process

  • Early drug development targeting circadian. Angiogenic and apoptotic pathways using cancer cell lines, cancer organoids and PDX preclinical models

  • Determination of carcinogenesis of these cancers and development of methods for early detection and better surveillance.

  • Early phase I/II clinical trial

  • Biomarker driven clinical trials

GU

Anishka D’Souza, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine; Associate Program Director, Hematology/Medical Oncology Fellowship

  • Targeted therapies in oncology

  • Germ cell tumor studies

  • Integrative approaches to cancer care

Amir Goldkorn, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine

The Goldkorn Laboratory and the USC Norris Liquid Biopsy Core (directed by Goldkorn) are engaged in the following areas of investigation:

  • Translational validation studies of liquid biopsy biomarkers in clinical cohorts in genitourinary and other malignancies.

  • Discovery of novel liquid biopsy-based biomarker signatures for prognostic, predictive, and cancer monitoring applications.

  • Development of minimally invasive multi-parametric tumor profiling that combines circulating tumor cells (CTCs), plasma cell-free nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), and radiomic analysis of CT or MR scans using machine learning.

  • Elucidating mechanisms of cancer plasticity to and from a drug-resistant, cancer stem-like phenotype, using patient derived cell lines, tumor organoids, and liquid biopsies, which are studied using genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and epitranscriptomic assays. We also employ metabolomic assays and functional metabolic imaging microscopy to track these phenotypic transitions in real time

Mitchell Gross, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Treatment of Prostate Cancer

  • Clinical and Laboratory Aspects of Cancer Research

  • Developmental and Experimental Therapeutics Focused on Prostate Cancer

  • Molecular Profiling to Identify New Cancer Biomarkers

  • Androgen Receptor Signaling and Signaling Transduction in Cancer

Jacek Pinski, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine

  • Research on prognostic and predictive genetic and immune biomarkers in prostate cancer

  • Immunotherapy against solid tumors using CAR-T cells

  • Creative interventions involving art therapy, virtual reality and music to improve quality of life of cancer patients

David Quinn, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FACP, Clinical Professor of Medicine

  • Locally advanced prostate cancer, aggressive metastatic prostate cancer, high grade urothelial cancer, renal cancer, testicular germ cell tumor and adrenal cancer

  • Cancer Biology and subset delineation

  • Circulating biomarkers

  • Phase III trials

  • Teaching skill sets: cohort analysis, clinical trial protocol writing, literature, and grants critiques

Sarmad Sadeghi, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma

  • Chemotherapy in post immunotherapy setting for metastatic urothelial carcinoma

  • Outcomes research, large database analyses and economic evaluation of health care interventions

Varsha Tulpule, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Genitourinary malignancies

  • Immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma

  • Cancer biology of renal cell carcinoma

  • Integrative oncology

SOLID TUMOR

James Hu, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine

  • Systemic Therapy for Sarcoma

  • Organizational Change and Leadership

  • Factors Affecting Outcomes in the Adolescent Young Adult Population

  • Systemic Therapy for Neuroncology

Robert Hsu, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Lung Cancer research along with cancer disparities across multiple tumor types

  • Comprehensive Genomic profiling looking at biomarkers in lung cancer

  • Retrospective Database Research on lung cancer patients at USC

  • Cancer registry research in lung and thyroid cancer

  • Young lung cancer characteristics and outcomes

Gino In, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Multi-disciplinary management of melanoma and other aggressive skin cancers: cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma   

  • Phase II/III trials in cutaneous malignancies: immune checkpoints, MAPK inhibition, intratumoral therapy, adoptive cellular therapies 

  • Pathogenesis of acral lentiginous melanoma 

  • Skin cancer outcomes for non-Caucasian populations 

  • Role of intratumoral therapy for cutaneous tumors 

  • Clinical outcomes research for immune checkpoint therapy 

Jorge Nieva, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Solid Tumor-Lung

  • Pioneered new technology for the detection of cancer cells in the peripheral blood and discoveries related to the fundamental mechanisms of the immune system

Jacob Thomas, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

  • Solid Tumor-Head and Neck

  • Cutaneous Malignancies of the Head and Neck

  • Molecular profiling of melanoma brain metastases compared to primary cutaneous melanoma