Ludwig Cancer Research is a global community of leading scientists pursuing innovative ways to prevent and control cancer. From basic research to clinical trials, in individual laboratories or as part of international teams, our researchers are tackling the hardest questions, spotting the connections and the possibilities. At Ludwig, we test our work against the one measure that matters — improving human health. Ludwig Cancer Research is a global community of leading scientists pursuing innovative ways to prevent and control cancer. From basic research to clinical trials, in individual laboratories or as part of international teams, our researchers are tackling the hardest questions, spotting the connections and the possibilities. At Ludwig, we test our work against the one measure that matters — improving human health.

I am a physician scientist with expertise in molecular pathology, signal transduction and cancer biology. After my clinical residency and fellowship in anatomic pathology and neuropathology, I trained in molecular and cellular developmental neurobiology in Lou Reichardt’s lab at HHMI/UCSF and joined the faculty of UCLA in 1998. As a pathologist diagnosing patients’ tumor samples in the clinic, I became convinced that the key to improved care depends on extracting the essential molecular and biochemical information contained within these tumors and developing a deeper understanding of how the functional networks activated by these molecular lesions actually work. Over the past 15 years we have developed a research program that tightly integrates studies in pre-clinical models with analyses of patients treated in state-of-the-art clinical trials, with the goal of developing more effective, less toxic therapies. In August 2012 I joined the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, and I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with this extraordinary and highly collaborative group of colleagues. Education Post-doctoral Fellowship, Louis F. Reichardt’s laboratory, HHMI, UCSF, 1998 Residency in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology, UCLA, 1996 Cornell University Medical College, MD, 1991 University of Pennsylvania, BA, Philosophy, 1984 Achievements Alpha Omega Alpha, Cornell University Medical College, 1991 Pfizer New Faculty Award (one in Neuroscience in United States), 1996 The Johnny Mercer Foundation Research Award, 2004 America’s Top Doctors for Cancer (Castle Connolly and US News and World Report), 2006-present Farber Award (top brain tumor research award given jointly by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Society for NeuroOncology), 2007 American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2007 Profiled by Journal of Cell Biology in the “People and Ideas” section, 2008 President, American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2011 American Association of Physicians, 2012 Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2015