Featured Investigators

BWH-BRI Cancer Research Center investigators have advanced and contributed insights to the world-wide community of scientists, physicians, policy makers, and the general public. The following profiles feature some of the leaders in cancer research at BWH.

Dr. Jon Aster studies cellular signaling pathways involved in cancers of the blood as potential targets for cancer therapies.

Dr. Stephen Blacklow studies cell surface receptors involved in a wide variety of disorders, including heart disease and cancer, with a goal of providing new opportunities for the development of targeted therapies.

Dr. Raphael Bueno seeks to develop novel new tools for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of thoracic cancers, including lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Dr. Rona Carroll’s work focuses on the development of novel therapies for controlling brain tumor growth using new and improved drug delivery systems.

Dr. Charles Dimitroff and his team illuminate how immune cells travel to inflamed skin and how prostate tumor cells form secondary tumors in other parts of the body.

Dr. Omid Farokhzad develops targeted nanoparticles for the treatment of breast, prostate, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Mark Johnson’s research is focused on finding new and better ways to treat gliomas, a class of tumors that arise in the brain.

Dr. Elliott Kieff’s viral oncology group focuses mainly on three oncogenic viruses: EBV; Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, also known as human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8); and human papillomavirus (HPV), which has been implicated in cervical cancer.

Dr. Thomas Kupper’s research focuses on the immune system; how it recognizes invaders and how our largest body organ, the skin, protects the individual from the external environment.

Dr. David Kwiatkowski is an acknowledged expert on tuberous sclerosis (TS), a rare genetic disorder in which multiple tumors develop in many different organs, including brain, kidney, lung, and skin

Dr. Cynthia Casson Morton’s research focuses on using genetic information to differentiate the projected clinical course of various tumors, including solid uterine fibroids.

Dr. Karl Münger’s work is centered on understanding the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cancer.

Dr. Clare Tempany’s research involves multidisciplinary applications of radiologic imaging, including image-guided therapy, MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) interventions, and MR-guided surgical procedures which can be used to treat patients with breast cancers, uterine fibroids, as well as tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, prostate, brain, bone, and liver.

Dr. Fred Wang’s research concerns the pathogenesis of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection: how it successfully infects humans, how it persists in humans, and how and why it is associated with certain kinds of cancer.

Dr. Walter Willett devotes his energies to research activities that center on the development of nutritional epidemiology.