Faculty Member

Scientific Interests

Gary Lyman, MD, MPH

Lyman's special interest is in health outcomes, and the evaluation of treatments in terms of their efficacy, impact on quality of life and economic consequences to patients and society. He is a national leader in the study of neutropenia, a complication of cancer therapy.

Gary Morrow, PhD, MS

His specialty is the study of relief of symptoms, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and fatigue. Morrow also studies psychological support for cancer patients and overall management of cancer treatment. He leads Rochester's community clinical oncology program, which oversees clinical trials.

Richard Fisher, MD

As director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Fisher is a nationally renowned cancer clinician. His specialty is in biological research and treatment for lymphoma, cancers derived from white blood cells. Fisher has also led studies in Hodgkin's Disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Dennis McCance, PhD

A microbiologist, McCance has a special interest in cervical cancer and its relationship to human papillomavirus. Current research focuses on the proteins E6 and E7, which are associated with HPV 16, one of the two strains that can lead to cervical cancer. He is also using micro-array analysis to investigate the genes that are regulated by E6 and E7.

Jeffrey Hayes, PhD

Hayes investigates damaged DNA, which is the precursor to many forms of cancer. His focus is on the process by which the body's own enzymes work to repair DNA mutations within cells. The goal is to understand why some DNA is left unrepaired, leaving the door open for cancer development.

Chawnshang Chang, PhD

A leader in the study of prostate cancer, Chang is investigating the molecular mechanisms by which this cancer progresses from an androgen-dependent to an androgen-independent stage. In the mid-1990s, Chang discovered the first androgen receptor co activators and their link to prostate cancer, and his goal is to produce better antiandrogens, leading to more effective drug therapies. Chang also investigates the molecular actions of steroid hormone function as it relates to prostate, testis, breast and brain cancer.

Edith Lord, PhD

Lord's special interest is the immune responses that control tumor development, and whether immunotherapy might limit the growth of tumors. She is also researching the unique microenvironment present in tumors, and how certain compounds may inhibit the hypoxic areas of cells, which are deficient in oxygen due to rapid tumor growth.

Yan Yu, PhD

Yu's specialty is medical and atomic physics, and the effectiveness of new treatment-delivery systems such as prostate brachytherapy. Yu's current research focuses on developing a robotic platform to treat localized cancers and better ultrasound and imaging techniques for detection and verification of cancer.

Craig Jordan, PhD

An expert in leukemia and stem cell biology, Jordan is director of the hematological malignancies translational research program. His focus is to better understand the molecular mechanisms that control the growth and development of stem cells, particularly leukemia stem cells.

Robert Bambara, PhD

Bambara studies the process by which DNA repairs itself when damaged, and how this process could be used to delay the onset of cancer or to make chemotherapy more effective. In addition, he researches the mechanisms by which anti-estrogen treatments for breast cancer suppress tumor growth.

Olle J. Sahler, MD

Sahler's special interest is in childhood cancer and complimentary medicine. She studies how youngsters and their families adapt to a cancer diagnosis and confront problem-solving, and the value of specific complimentary therapies such as music, to improve quality of life.

Richard Phipps, PhD

Phipps is an expert on injury to the lung from chemotherapy agents and radiation. Recent lung research focuses on the pathways by which cigarette smoke contributes to chronic lung inflammation and lung cancer.

Phipps is also working with clinicians to develop alternative, targeted therapies for malignant lymphoma cells and multiple myeloma. In addition, Phipps studies the link between inflammation and cancer, and the role of prostaglandin, lipid mediators that control inflammation, as future anti-cancer agents.

Jonathan Friedberg, MD

Friedberg's special interest is advancing treatment for B-cell malignancies and Hodgkin's lymphoma. He supervises clinical trials to study safer agents, such as Rituxan, that stimulate the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

Edward Messing, MD

Messing is internationally known for his work in the prevention, early detection, and cutting-edge treatment of urologic malignancies. He set the standard for detection of bladder cancer through screenings and continues to develop improvements. Messing also leads numerous clinical trials and utilizes high-tech robotic surgical systems in an effort to treat prostate cancer most aggressively.

Hartmut Land, PhD

His research focuses on how cancer arises at the molecular level, and the mechanisms by which mutant genes cooperate to become malignant. At the same time he is exploring how cell-signaling networks operate in cancer and normal development.

Andrei Yakolev, MD, PhD

An expert in biostatistics, Yakolev develops models and statistical programs for cancer surveillance and screening. Recent studies include breast cancer survival analysis and gene expression data analysis.

Joseph Roscoe, PhD

Roscoe designs research studies concerned with measuring the side effects of cancer treatment and patient quality of life. Currently he is studying the use of acupressure wristbands and relaxation audiotapes to relieve nausea. Another study involves identifying how chemotherapy affects sleep patterns.

Thomas Foster, MD, PhD

Foster studies aspects of photodynamic therapy, a cancer intervention that uses cancer-seeking compounds and light to produce local tumor necrosis. The photochemical reactions depend upon oxygen, and his research focuses on the mechanisms of photochemical depletion of tissue oxygen and its resupply. He is also interested in characterizing tumor oxygenation.

Yuhchyau Chen, MD, PhD

Chen's special interest is in the design of combination radiation and chemotherapy for inoperable small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancers. She also studies radio sensitization and the effects of treatment on normal tissue of the lung and esophageal region.