Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, MPH
Cancer geneticist Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, MPH, has joined City of Hope as Director of its newly founded Center for Precision Medicine. He will lead a team of more than 14 researchers who will work across the institution to pioneer personalized cancer prevention and treatment plans.
As a medical oncologist and epidemiologist, Dr. Gruber is an expert in the genetic epidemiology of cancer and has focused much of his research on solid tumors. At City of Hope, he uses genetics and genomics to drive preventive medicine, population health, clinical medicine, health outcomes, and translational innovation. He will launch a Lynch Syndrome Center of Excellence, making City of Hope the only institution on the West Coast to have specialized focus in a common yet underdiagnosed inherited condition that increases the risk for developing certain cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic, stomach, breast, prostate, and others.
Early Diagnosis and Treatment
“We will eventually be able to provide all City of Hope patients with insight about their genome, so the right treatment for their disease is chosen,” Dr. Gruber said. “The goal is to diagnose disease earlier, when it’s more treatable, and to treat patients with drugs that minimize or even cure their cancer rather than to prescribe ones that will have no effect on their specific tumor. It’s too early to disclose the details of our new program, but what I can say is that I’m excited and grateful to be part of the talented team at City of Hope that will usher in a new, personalized way to treat cancer.”
City of Hope’s precision medicine efforts have been complemented by its affiliate, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, which provides access to Ashion Analytics and GEM ExTra, both of which provide clinical genomic sequencing and analysis technology. This will enable City of Hope physicians to make more informed treatment decisions.
Before coming to City of Hope, Dr. Gruber was Director of the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
