Andrei Goga, MD, PhD
Cancer is a major challenge to oral health and a key focus of the UCSF School of Dentistry. I am a medical oncologist and basic / translational investigator. Our lab's principal goals are to identify new ways to selectively kill malignancies that are driven by cancer genes that lack direct inhibitors. Our lab has focused on some of the most aggressive and difficult to treat human cancers, including lung, breast, and liver cancers, as well as particularly aggressive leukemias and lymphomas. We have uncovered a number of new cell cycle, metabolic and small RNA targets that when inhibited selectively kill some of these tumors. Some of our discoveries are being translated to clinical trials for patients with these aggressive cancers. To date, few if any, precise treatments exist for oral and head and neck cancers. These malignancies cause > 1/2 million cases worldwide with significant morbidity and mortality. Our goal is to leverage our expertise in oncogene signaling and therapeutics to discover new treatments for aggressive oral and head & neck cancers.