In-Residence Labs and Groups
Cancer research teams housed at Huntsman Cancer Institute
View the complete directory of Cancer Center members
Andersen Lab
Our lab uses a variety of tools to discover the signaling mechanisms by which cancer cells grow and adapt to stress. An understanding of these mechanisms guides us in designing improved targeted cancer therapies.
Ayer Lab
The Ayer lab is interested in the transcriptional control of cellular proliferation and how these controls are subverted in human malignancy.
Basham Lab
The Basham Lab conducts scientific research that contributes to the understanding of how cancer begins in order to develop new therapeutic strategies. We are committed to creating an inclusive and collaborative laboratory environment that advances the training and career development of all members.
Beckerle Lab
The primary focus of our laboratory's research is examining how cells modulate their behavior in response to both extrinsic and intrinsic signals. This process of signal integration has profound effects on cell migration, morphology, and function—behaviors that, when aberrant, can lead to cancer and other diseases.
Bernard Lab
The Bernard Lab at Huntsman Cancer Institute is developing new strategies for the classification, detection, and treatment of cancer
Buckley Lab
The Buckley Lab focuses on post-translational mechanisms in hematopoietic malignancies, including acute myeloid leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets.
Cairns Lab
We are interested in the molecular logic of totipotency—the ability of germ line stem cells and early embryos to become any type of cell. Within this broad and important question, we focus on how chromatin structure and epigenetics helps regulate gene transcription in the germ line and early embryos. We also examine how chromatin/epigenetics is misregulated in cancers.
Camp Lab
The main focus of research in the Camp Lab is the identification of germ-line genetic variants that increase susceptibility to disease, with specific interests in breast cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM).
Center for Cancer Genetics
For decades, geneticists working in Utah have made seminal contributions to the field of cancer predisposition genetics. In late 2019, the creation of the Center for Cancer Genetics (C4CG) at Huntsman Cancer Institute continues our leadership through comprehensive translation of cancer susceptibility gene discoveries to the clinic and to the population.
Center for HOPE
The Center for Health Outcomes and Population Equity (HOPE) serves as an infrastructure and bridge between scientists and community organizations (e.g., health care, government, education, nonprofits, faith based, social services, tribal) throughout Utah and the Mountain West.
Chandrasekharan Lab
The Chandrasekharan Lab’s focus is to understand the regulation and functions of epigenetic histone modifications and protein homeostasis (proteostasis) mechanisms during gene regulation and genome maintenance, and their therapeutic targeting in cancers.
Cheshier Lab
The Cheshier Lab focuses on enhanced immunotherapy treatment of malignant pediatric brain tumors and understanding the treatment’s molecular mechanism.
Curtin Group
The Curtin Group has a broad range of research interests which include age-related macular degeneration and co-segregating diseases, epigenetics in cancer, cancer epidemiology with emphasis on colorectal cancer, environmental pollution, and gene-environment interaction.
Distel Lab
The Distel Lab is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms governing initiation and progression of pediatric cancers with a current focus on sarcomas. We use zebrafish as our model of choice to dissect pediatric tumor formation in the context of a developing vertebrate organism.
Doherty Lab
Our research focuses on the molecular and genomic epidemiology of ovarian and lung cancers.
Edgar Lab
Research in the Edgar Lab focuses on the mechanisms that regulate cell growth and proliferation in Drosophila, in human cells, and in the gut epithelium of mice.
Evason Lab
The overarching goal of the Evason laboratory is to investigate mechanisms involved in liver Tumorigenesis in order to develop improved therapies to treat this deadly cancer.
Gaffney Lab
Our team looks at control and response in mycosis fungoides patients and in patients treated in the post-autologous stem cell transplant setting.
Gertz Lab
The Gertz Lab develops and applies experimental methods that take advantage of next-generation sequencing to create high-resolution maps of gene regulatory networks.
Grossman Lab
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, given its propensity to metastasize. Our work is focused on understanding how particular genes promote (or inhibit) the development and progression of melanoma and to use this knowledge to develop novel strategies for reducing melanoma risk in susceptible individuals.
Gupta Lab
The Gupta Lab is dedicated to investigating urothelial cancer susceptibility, treatment resistance, and innovative treatment methods.
Holmen Lab
The Holmen Lab is focused on defining critical targets in cancer cells that can become the focus for therapeutic intervention.
Hu-Lieskovan’s Lab
Dr. Hu-Lieskovan’s laboratory uses cutting-edge technologies to investigate mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy, develop novel combination strategies to overcome resistance, improve efficacy, and monitor and prevent immunotherapy-induced toxicities.
Jensen Lab
The Jensen Lab is interested in both benign and malignant brain tumor angiogenesis, biology, and developing novel treatment and imaging modalities for these tumors.
Johnson Lab
The Skyler Johnson Research Lab is focused on health services research, specifically cancer patient treatment decision making, cancer misinformation, alternative and complementary treatment use, cancer outcomes, and survivorship.
Judson-Torres Lab
The Judson-Torres Lab investigates how the interplay between the initial transcriptional state of a normal cell, acquired genetic mutations, and extracellular signaling contributes to cancer initiation and progression.
Kaphingst Lab
The goal of the Kaphingst research program is to develop effective cancer and genetic communication approaches for the clinical translation of genomic information.
K. B. Jones Lab
The K. B. Jones Lab is directed by and supports Dr. Jones as he provides care to patients of all ages with bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, performing surgery to remove the cancers and reconstruct the limbs or body wall.
Kepka Group
The Kepka group is engaged in population science research that addresses health disparities related to cancer risk in vulnerable populations. Our goals are to drive quality improvement and increase access to primary health care services for cancer prevention and control among minority and underserved populations.
Kinsey Lab
The Kinsey Laboratory is interested in combining targeted therapies with autophagy inhibition in pancreatic and gastrointestinal cancers for rapid translation to patients.
Kirchhoff Group
The Kirchhoff Group has a collective goal of understanding and improving the health of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors.
McMahon Lab
Research in the McMahon Lab focuses on the importance of RAS effectors, such as the RAF family of protein kinases and phosphoinositide 3’ (PI3’)-kinases in the aberrant physiology of cancer cells.
Mendoza Lab
The Mendoza Lab is using recent advances in proteomics and quantitative imaging to understand how extracellular signals impinge on cytoskeletal dynamics and how oncogenic pathway hyperactivation impacts cancer invasion.
Mooney Lab
The Mooney lab focuses on research that links cancer control with behavioral science. We work to understand and reduce cancer morbidity and use that understanding to develop treatments for related physical and psychosocial symptoms. Our intent is to improve patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
Myers Lab
In multicellular organisms, cell-cell communication is tightly controlled to ensure proper development and prevent diseases such as cancer. Our lab studies a key aspect of this process: how extracellular signals are transmitted across the membrane to the cell interior.
Neklason Lab
The Neklason lab is focused on studying genes and pathways involved in familial colorectal cancers syndromes.
Onega Team
The Onega Team is dedicated to and focused on understanding access to cancer care, especially in rural and frontier populations, with a special interest in health equity for screening and early detection. Working across the cancer control continuum, and using geospatial and health informatics methodologies, we aim to have a population-level impact by improving access to care through new care delivery models, effective care teams, and multimodal services.
Ou Lab
The Ou Lab explores the impacts of environmental exposures on cancer etiology and survivorship outcomes. Environmental exposures include natural disasters like wildfires as well as features of the built environment like access to healthcare facilities.
Schiffman Lab
The Schiffman Lab studies pediatric hereditary cancer syndromes, with a special interest in genetic susceptibility to childhood cancers.
Snyder Lab
The Snyder Lab's overall goal is to determine how the loss of cellular identity and acquisition of alternative differentiation states contributes to cancer progression and alters therapeutic response.
Spike Lab
In the Spike Lab, we are interested in questions at the intersection of stem cells, development, and cancer.
Stewart Lab
Our laboratory is interested in how genetic programs governing embryonic development are exploited during cancer initiation and progression.
Suneja Lab
The Suneja Lab seeks to ensure the highest quality cancer care is accessible and equitably delivered to all patients. Current areas of focus include disparities in cancer treatment and outcomes in people with HIV, radiation oncology workforce diversity, short course gynecologic radiotherapy, impact of COVID on cancer treatment in vulnerable populations, and HIV-mediated differences in tumor microenvironments.
Tan Lab
The Tan Lab conducts translational bioinformatics and cancer systems biology research to understand and overcome treatment resistance in cancer through biomarker discovery, predicting drug combinations, and co-targeting tumor microenvironment.
Tavtigian Lab
Research in the Tavtigian Lab concentrates on two areas of genetic susceptibility to cancer: 1) Identification and characterization of intermediate-risk and high-risk cancer susceptibility genes, and 2) analysis of unclassified variants that are observed during the clinical testing of established high-risk cancer susceptibility genes.
Trabert Team
The Trabert Team is engaged in research related to the prevention of gynecologic cancers. We integrate pharmacoepidemiology, as well as reproductive and molecular epidemiology to understand the risk factors and progression of ovarian and uterine cancers.
Ullman Lab
The Ullman Lab studies the coordination of cell division, with a particular focus on how assembly of nuclear architecture is integrated with other events of cell division.
Ulrich Group
The Ulrich Group investigates genetic and lifestyle factors in the formation and prognosis of cancer with focus on colorectal cancer. In addition Dr. Ulrich focuses on prevention strategies with NSAIDs, with pharmacogenetics, nutrition, exercise and cancer, as well as connections between obesity, adipose tissue, and the progress of cancer.
VanBrocklin Lab
The VanBrocklin Lab is interested in identifying novel molecular targets vital for tumor growth and progression and validating these candidates in pre-clinical models in order to develop rational pharmacological intervention strategies for melanoma and NSCLC patients
Varley Lab
Our projects involve the development of new molecular methods and bioinformatics approaches to explore the cancer genome and translate our discoveries into clinical tools that improve patient care.
Welm Labs
The Welm labs conduct basic and translational cancer research focused on improving outcomes for breast cancer patients through rigorous, multi-disciplinary, collaborative research.
Wu Team
The Wu Team has a shared goal of improving outcomes for children, adolescents, young adults who are affected by cancer, as well as for their families.
Young Lab
The Young Lab is dedicated to investigating strategies that modify the immune response to improve both treatment safety and efficacy for patients.
Zhang Lab
The Zhang Lab applies 3D genomics approaches to investigate the interplay between cancer genome and epigenome. Our research uniquely spans the interface between bioinformatics and experimental biology. We utilize genomics and epigenomics analyses to generate hypotheses that we test using cutting-edge CRISPR technologies.