Fundamentals of Cancer Biology

Faculty Advisor: Associate Professor, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis

Research Program Introduction

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the global world. According to a CDC report, in 2018, for every 100,000 people in the US, 436 new cancer cases were reported, and 149 people died of cancer.

This program will help students understand the fundamentals of cancer biology. Students will learn about the basics of cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. These principles will be taught using a platform of breast cancer. Sessions will consist of interactive lectures incorporating classical and new research related to the week's topic. This information will then serve as a framework for students working independently to develop a final paper. 

Students will also learn general and subject-specific research and academic writing methods used in universities and scholarly publications. Students will focus on individual topics and generate their own work products upon program completion.

Possible Topics For Final Project:

• Principles of multistep carcinogenesis

• Breast cancer and gatekeeper mutations 

• Genetic misregulation in cancer (genetic instability and epigenetic)

• Regulating cell death and cell cycle

• Tumor microenvironment/cancer-associated inflammation

• Cancer invasion and metastasis

• Other professor-approved topics in this subject area that you are interested in

Program Details

• Cohort size: 3 to 5 students

• Duration: 12 weeks

• Workload: Around 4 hours per week (including class and homework time)

• Target students: 9 to 12th graders interested in medicine, cancer biology, biomedicine, and/or biochemistry.