University of Chicago

For twenty five years, the Committee on Cancer Biology (CCB) has offered rigorous training leading to a PhD in Cancer Biology, preparing our students to be leaders in cancer research.  Our translational focus encourages students to gain a wide range of skills that will serve them well both in and out of the laboratory.  Most of our graduates pursue postdoctoral studies and remain active in cancer research pursuing careers in universities, industry, government and clinical care.  

A unique strength of the CCB PhD program is our community and environment.  Along with its medical school and hospitals, the University of Chicago is home to an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Ludwig Center for Metastasis Research and multiple other centers and institutes that establish our leadership in cancer discovery.  Thereby, students can work with well over a hundred of our faculty from across biology, medicine, chemistry, computer science, bioengineering, and other fields, who are targeting cancer at every level from molecular mechanisms to advanced therapies.  The CCB faculty are committed to training the next generation of cancer researchers and are mentoring hundreds of undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral trainees who participate in our program.  

The core of the CCB community is a diverse group of PhD students who share a commitment to solving the cancer problem.  We are proud to attract outstanding students each year who have succeeded both in the classroom and laboratory and are now ready to pursue independent research toward the PhD.  For 2020, CCB is introducing a streamlined curriculum that builds on the strengths and initiative of our students.  We have reduced first year coursework to shift the focus to immersing students in our community and helping them choose a thesis advisor, with the goal of beginning full-time research as soon as possible.  As part of the first year, students also find a co-mentor and form a thesis committee, with the goal of completing the last steps for candidacy for the PhD early in second year.  We hope for students to be able to get a fast start on their projects, begin presenting their work at conferences and publishing papers early on, defend their thesis and begin their next phase of training before the end of five years.