>> [Background Music] They have a cancer biology training program that is something

that I have dreamed of the entire time I've been here.

And so for us to actually bring it to fruition was absolutely great.

And when we interview students, they are so interested in translational research.

And cancer biology is a perfect way to bring a student into the study

of a serious clinical problem that can be addressed in the laboratory.

>> Students apply to our program through the PIBS program,

the Program in Biomedical Sciences.

Our program is different from the other programs in that we're the only one

of the 14 programs that is focused on a disease.

And we've designed the program to try to make the types of research

that the students would be exposed to more translational in nature.

In other words, it's basic research with the goal of really trying to apply those findings

in the clinic as quickly as feasible.

>> My initial interest in the cancer biology program here at the University

of Michigan was primarily in the spirit

of collaboration among the different departments coming together to form one common program.

There doesn't seem to be any kind of competition between the labs.

So everyone is willing to help and share space, share equipment, things like that.

And additionally, with the cancer center right here,

the real value in that is the ability to work with clinical specimens.

So you are working with the radiation oncologist.

You are working with the surgeons.

And you're able to use patient tissue in some cases to do your work.

Well, my research focus was on the role of HPV in head and neck cancer.

I think that the impact that my work will have on cancer research and clinical oncology

in general is the need for personalized therapy for patients

who don't respond to standard treatments.

>> This exciting because we have at least one way now of distinguishing between those tumors

that really do very poorly with our current therapy and those that do well.

>> For me the advantage to coming to Michigan

and joining the cancer biology program was by far the faculty.

They are very collaborative, and they are very interdisciplinary.

And those faculty do remarkable work.

>> We have great enthusiasm and excitement for where the people that are trained

in this program will go and what they will contribute to the future of cancer biology.

>> Coming from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry with just a masters degree

to now having the first cancer biology Ph.D. from the University of Michigan I feel

that I have gained that additional level of expertise

to not only ask the important research questions but to hopefully have a positive impact

on the lives of cancer patients here.

>> That's what we want to see is our students succeed and move on to be the next generation

of leaders in the field and hopefully make a difference in people's lives down the road.

>> So this is the type of place you want to come where if you really want to do the best research

and you're not entirely sure exactly what you want to do, and you don't want to be trapped

in this school specializes in this type of cancer biology or this type of biology,

this is the place you should come.

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