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Research

Faculty members the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the UCI School of Medicine's Department of Medicine are nationally recognized for their groundbreaking work in basic, clinical and epidemiological research into blood diseases and cancer.

Dr. Edward Nelson with students at UC Irvine's hyperwall

Researchers with the division of Hematology/Oncology play a critical role in bringing advances from their laboratories and those of other UCI scientists and engineers to the battle against cancer and its ravages on patients’ bodies.

All the division's faculty members are affiliated with the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center in Orange County. Each faculty member is involved with clinical studies that advance the care of patients with cancer and blood disorders.

Many of our faculty members participate in the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), one of the nation’s largest networks for NCI-funded clinical trials, which conducts major Phase 3 multi-institutional, clinical trials and groundbreaking initial trials that often lead to the development of new drugs and new standards of care as well as better ways to treat and prevent cancer.

Researcher in hematolog-oncology lab

Additionally, several faculty members have more basic (laboratory) and/or translational research programs.

Our division researchers include:

Daniela A. Bota, MD, PhD

Bota, who has a joint appointment in Neurology and Hematology/Oncology, is one of a handful of neuro-oncologists with specialized training that bridges the fields of neurology and oncology. Her research involves developing new and improved treatments for brain tumors and studies to understand the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment on brain function and how to prevent impairment.

Elizabeth Brem, MD

Brem focuses on hematologic cancers, with a major emphasis on lymphomas.  She directs clinical and translational studies that seek to advance the development of new therapies and to shed light on mechanisms of resistance to current therapies using a cutting edge laboratory technique, BH3 profiling.

Robert Mathew Carroll, MD

Carroll is a member of the UCI Community Cancer Network-Newport Associates.  Carroll’s practice is at the Newport Cancer Center.  Carroll sees all types of cancer and blood disorders, but has a special interest in breast cancer.  Carroll is particularly keen on tapping into the genetics of a patient’s tumor to better predict which treatment they would benefit from.

Farshid Dayyani, MD, PhD

Dayyani’s focus is on gastrointestinal tract cancers, with a special emphasis on gastric and esophageal cancers.  Dayyani is the institution’s lead in a University of California wide program to establish patient derived xenografts of their tumors to permit in depth study of human tumors.  Dayyani has a longstanding interest in biomarker discovery and validation to provide earlier signals for detection of cancer and/or response to treatment.

Samuel Ejadi, MD

Ejadi’s primary clinical focus is on melanoma.  Ejadi leads clinical trials that test new therapies including exciting therapies to help patients’ immune system fight their cancer. Ejadi also assists the gastrointestinal cancer team in caring for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Angela G. Fleischman, MD, PhD

Fleischman's clinical and laboratory focus is on myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Fleischman holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biochemistry. Her specific area of interest is the role of inflammation in initiation, disruption, and the pathophysiology of hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to MPNs. She is working to identify novel therapeutic targets for MPN to be used in clinical trials.  Fleischman is co-leader of the Hematologic Malignancies Disease Oriented Team.

John P. Fruehauf, MD, PhD

Fruehauf’s clinical focus is on melanoma and cancers of the genitourinary tract, especially kidney cancer. His current research includes examining differential gene expression to distinguish between drug-resistant and drug-sensitive tumors, evaluation of biomarkers for sensitivity or resistance to anti-angiogenic therapies, correlative laboratory studies for ongoing clinical research.

Deepa Jeyakumar, MD

Jeyakumar focuses on hematologic malignancies, particularly acute myeloid leukemia.  Jeyakumar is UCI’s representative to the University of California, Hematologic Malignancies Consortium, that leverages all five UC Comprehensive Cancer Centers for early phase and investigator initiated clinical studies.  Jeyakumar is co-leader of the Hematologic Malignancies Disease Oriented Team.

Xiao Tang Kong, MD

Kong has a joint appointment in Neurology and Hematology/Oncology.  Kong focuses on neuro-oncology, caring for patients with brain tumors, and conducting clinical studies to test new therapies for this difficult type of cancer.

Kushrow Mahdavi, MD

Mahdavi is a member of the UCI Community Cancer Network-Newport Associates.  Mahdavi’s practice is at the Newport Cancer Center.  Mahdavi sees all types of cancer and blood disorders and has a special interest in caring for members of the Persian community in Orange County and in new immunotherapeutic strategies for treating cancer.

Nataliya Mar, MD

Mar’s research focuses on the genitourinary malignancies, with a particular interest in prostate cancers. Mar holds a joint appointment in the Department of Urology. Mar leads the clinical trial efforts in genitourinary cancers.  She is interested in testing new therapies for prostate cancer and other genitourinary cancers.

Gordon D. McLaren, MD

McLaren is an internationally recognized expert in disorders of iron metabolism and iron overload, with an emphasis on hereditary hemochromatosis and understanding the role of intestinal iron absorption in health and disease. McLaren has been instrumental in large epidemiologic studies that have identified many of the molecular defects that lead to iron overload states.  McLaren is primarily situated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach. 

Rita S. Mehta, MD

Mehta is a nationally recognized expert in breast cancer. Mehta is the university’s principal investigator for the National Cancer Institute’s National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and SWOG clinical trials for breast cancer. Mehta’s research has resulted in a practice changing clinical study of dual hormonal blockade for metastatic hormone sensitive breast cancer, conducted within SWOG.

Frank L. Meyskens Jr., MD

Meyskens is an internationally recognized expert in cancer prevention. His longstanding area of research is in chemoprevention, or developing and testing agents to prevent the development of cancer. He was the lead investigator on a landmark 2009 SWOG study that provided the first demonstration that chemoprevention can be effective.  Meyskens was the founding Director of the NCI designated Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biochemistry, and is a prolific poet.

Rupali Nabar, MD

Nabar is a member of the UCI Community Cancer Network-Newport Associates.  Nabar’s primary practice is at the Newport Cancer Center.  Nabar sees all types of cancer and is a member of the Head and Neck Cancer team at UCIMC.

Andreea Nanci, MD

Nanci is a member of the UCI Community Cancer Network-Newport Associates.  Nanci’s practice is at the Newport Cancer Center.  Nanci sees all types of cancer and blood disorders. Nanci has a particular interest in “precision” or “personalized” therapies driven by the genetics of a patient’s tumor.  She is the current Medical Director of the Newport Cancer Center.

Edward L. Nelson, MD

Nelson is chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and has a joint appointment in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. Nelson is the Associate Director for Cancer Research Career Development in the NCI designated Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Nelson’s clinical focus is on hematologic malignancies, particularly lymphoma.  Nelson’s laboratory research program centers on tumor immunology with a focus on improving the ability of a patient’s immune system to battle cancer.

Susan O'Brien, MD

O’Brien in an internationally recognized expert on lymphoid leukemias, both acute and chronic.  O’Brien is Deputy Director for Clinical Sciences in the NCI designated Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Director of the Sue and Ralph Stern Center for Cancer Clinical Trials and Research. O’Brien oversees and coordinates clinical cancer research across UC Irvine health. O’Brien has participated in multiple research studies that have brought new therapies for lymphoid malignancies to the clinic and has authored over 700 publications.

Kathryn E. Osann, PhD, MPH

Kathryn Osann, an epidemiologist and biostatician who helps design and analyze the division's numerous cancer studies, including clinical trials and translational research. Her expertise is critical to the successful conduct of basic, translational and pure clinical research performed by many of our faculty and Clinical Fellows.  She also is an important member of our teaching faculty for our Clinical Fellowship program.

Sai-Hong Ignatius Ou, MD, PhD

Ou is an internationally recognized expert on lung cancer.  Ou’s research is focuses on clinical studies of molecularly targeted therapeutics. Ou led UC Irvine's effort in a landmark study that demonstrated an entirely new class of cancer treatment agents known as ALK inhibitors can have a remarkable effect on lung cancer.  Ou has demonstrated that molecularly targeted therapies can be effective even in metastatic lung cancer that involves the brain.  Ou is the institution’s principle investigator for SWOG and runs early phase clinical studies evaluating new molecularly targeted therapies.

Ritesh Parajuli, MD

Parajuli’s clinical and research interests are focused on breast cancer.  Parajuli has a particular interest in translational research focused on circulating biomarkers that provide insight into the biological behavior of a patient’s breast cancer. Dr. Parajuli is co-leader of the Breast disease oriented team.

Lauren Pinter-Brown, MD

Pinter-Brown’s clinical and research interests include lymphoma in general, with focus on cutaneous and T cell lymphomas. Pinter-Brown is an internationally recognized expert in these lymphomas and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Dermatology. She is also interested in the optimization of treatment options for patients with lymphoma. Prior to coming to UC Irvine, Pinter-Brown led the lymphoma program at UC Los Angeles for many years. Pinter-Brown is also interested in integrative oncology to enhance cancer patients’ quality of life.

Lewis M. Slater, MD

Slater’s clinical interest is focused on hematologic problems and cancers. Slater ran a laboratory research program that studied methods to promote tumor immunity. Slater is primarily situated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach.  Slater is an important member of the teaching faculty for benign hematology and hematopathology for the Clinical Fellowship program.

Richard Van Etten, MD PhD

Van Etten is director of the NCI designated UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Biochemistry. Van Etten’s clinical and research focus in on hematologic malignancies, with a special emphasis on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).  Van Etten developed the first mouse model of CML and continues work to define the molecular and genetic basis for the development of a range of hematologic malignancies.  The work of Van Etten is providing the foundation for the development of new therapeutic agents for hematologic malignancies.

Jason A. Zell, DO, MPH, MS

Zell studies primary and secondary prevention of colorectal and hepatobiliary cancers, using advanced epidemiologic techniques to identify candidate biological pathways and/or influences that modulate the risk of cancer. Zell’s clinical focus is on gastrointestinal malignancies, with a special emphasis on colorectal cancer.  Zell is the lead researcher on a large multi-institutional SWOG study of chemoprevention for colon cancer.  Zell is co-leader of the gastrointestinal disease oriented team and director of the division's clinical fellowship program.

Viola Zhu, MD

Zhu’s clinical and research interests are in thoracic oncology with a special emphasis on lung cancer.  Zhu’s research focuses on clinical studies of molecularly targeted therapeutics.  Zhu is primarily situated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach and is interim Section Chief for Hematology Oncology at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.