Leadership and Administration
David K. Ann, Ph.D.
Dean and Helen & Morgan Chu Dean’s Chair, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism
Co-Leader, Molecular and Cellular Biology of Cancer Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Ann is a Professor and Associate Chair at the Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism. He obtained his B.S. degree in Medical Technology from National Taiwan University and his Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from Purdue University. His research focuses on the roles of post-translational modifications in oncogenesis, metastasis and cancer metabolism. Dr. Ann started his faculty career as an Assistant Professor at University of Minnesota Medical School in 1989 and subsequently as an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California in 1994 prior to joining City of Hope in 2006.
Yilun Liu, Ph.D.
Vice Dean, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics
Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics
Co-Director, KGI-City of Hope Master of Science Program in Translational Medicine
Dr. Liu is a Professor and Associate Chair at the Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics. She received her B.S. degree in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University. She was recruited to Yale Medical School as an Assistant Professor after her postdoctoral training at Cancer Research UK. In 2011, she joined City of Hope, and her research has been focusing on understanding how dysfunctions in DNA replication and transcription contribute to genomic instability that leads to cancer and premature aging.
Susan L. Neuhausen, Ph.D.
Director, Assessment and Development, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
The Morris & Horowitz Families Professor in Cancer Etiology & Outcomes Research
Director, Division of Biomarkers of Early Detection and Prevention, Department of Population Sciences
Co-leader, Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Morris & Horowitz Families Professor in Cancer Etiology & Outcomes Research
Director, Division of Biomarkers of Early Detection and Prevention, Department of Population Sciences
Co-leader, Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Neuhausen joined City of Hope in 2009 and is currently the endowed Morris & Horowitz Families Professor in Cancer Etiology & Outcome Research at the Department of Population Sciences. She is also the Director for Biomarkers of Early Detection and Prevention. She received her Ph.D. degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics from University of Minnesota. Dr. Neuhausen’s research focuses on identifying genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that cause breast, ovarian and prostate cancers, as well as factors important for disease-free survival in those who develop cancer.
Mark LaBarge, Ph.D.
Director, Postdoctoral Training Office, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Professor, Department of Population Sciences
Dr. LaBarge received his B.S. degree in Genetics from University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Pharmacology from Stanford University. He joined the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory first as a postdoctoral fellow and later as a faculty. In 2016, Dr. LaBarge moved to City of Hope as a Professor in the Department of Population Sciences. Dr. LaBarge specializes in developing human cell systems to dissect the micro-environmental and tissue-level changes in breast that arise with age for understanding why aging is a major risk factor for breast cancer.
Markus Kalkum, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Core
Professor, Department of Immunology & Theranostics
Director of Ph.D. Administration and Admissions, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Markus Kalkum, Ph.D., is co-director of the Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Core at City of Hope. His research areas include mass spectrometry, microbiology and immunology. In particular, he employs mass spectrometry and proteomics to develop novel diagnostic assays and vaccines.
Tijana Jovanovic-Talisman, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Ph.D. Admissions, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine
Dr. Talisman received her B.S. degree in Physical Chemistry from University of Belgrade, Serbia and Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Columbia University. After her postdoctoral training at NIH and Rockefeller University, Dr. Talisman became an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She joined City of Hope in 2013 and became an Associate Professor of the Department of Molecular Medicine in 2019. Her laboratory uses pointillistic super-resolution imaging techniques that offer high spatial resolution and single-molecule sensitivity to study biological processes contributing to human diseases.
Christopher Sistrunk, Ph.D.
Director of Diversity and Education, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Jeremy Stark, Ph.D.
Director, Ph.D. Curriculum, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Professor, Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics
Scientific Director, Analytical Cytometry Core
Scientific Director, Analytical Cytometry Core
Dr. Stark received his PhD from University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He joined City of Hope in 2006, after his postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Stark is now a Professor at the Department of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics and the Scientific Director of Analytic Cytometry Core at City of Hope. He studies the factors that limit chromosomal rearrangements during DNA break repair to maintain genome stability, and to develop therapeutic targets for tumor radiosensitization.
Ke Ma, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Director, Master of Science in Translational Medicine, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Associate Professor, Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism
Dr. Ma is an Associate Professor at the Department of Diabetes Complications & Metabolism. Dr. Ma received her M.D. degree from Shandong Medical University and Ph.D. degree in Cardiovascular Sciences from Baylor College of Medicine. She held an Assistant Professorship first at Houston Methodist Research Institute and then Baylor College of Medicine prior to joining City of Hope in 2017. Dr. Ma studies the regulatory networks mediating nutrient-sensing functions of circadian clock in tissue crosstalk between fat, muscle and liver in normal and pathological conditions.
