
Ajay Goel Lab
Research Highlights
Biomarkers for Diagnosis, Prognosis, Treatment Response and Monitoring
Using a multiplicity of molecular approaches, City of Hope researchers have identified a diverse range of novel colorectal cancer biomarkers, including DNA, mRNA, microRNA and DNA methylation-based biomarkers. The potential clinical applications of these biomarkers are broad, and include diagnosis, prognosis, treatment prediction and monitoring of colorectal and other GI cancers, as well as patient stratification for clinical trials. Notably, most of these biomarkers have been validated using clinical samples from large patient cohorts and have been described in highly regarded peer-reviewed journals. These biomarkers offer three benefits that are key to clinical and commercial success:
- Multiple applications – novel, proprietary biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of colorectal and other GI cancers
- Stand-alone or multiplexed – the biomarkers can potentially be used in stand-alone assays, or as part of multiplexed assays to achieve greater sensitivity and specificity
- Integration – the biomarkers are compatible with standard molecular platforms and workflows
Epigenetics and Cancer Prevention
Resources available:
- Ion Torrent PGM sequencer
- Ion Chef
- Applied Biosystems 3100 Avant sequencer
- Pyromark PSQ HS 96A pyrosequencing system
- QiaCube automated nucleic acid extraction systems
- QuantStudio digital PCR system
- Applied Biosystems real-time PCR machines
- Fluorescence microscopes
- Digital imaging systems
Professor and Chair in the Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics and Associate Director of Basic Science in the Comprehensive Care Center, Ajay Goel's research focuses on better methods for the early detection and precision treatment of cancer.



Yoh Asahi, M.D., Ph.D. is a Global Scholar in Ajay Goel Lab.


Taru Jain has completed her post-graduation from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, India, in Biotechnology. Before joining Dr. Goel's lab, she worked as a Research Associate at Unichem Laboratories focusing her work on developing novel molecules targeting colon and breast cancer. In her current role, Taru is dedicated to continuing her research on the early detection of gastrointestinal cancer and helping to improve early diagnostic techniques.
In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, going for long drives, and listening to music.


Yuan Li is a lab member in Goel lab at City of Hope.


Jessica Liu is a high school student at Westridge School for Girls and a research intern in Ajay Goel Lab. She is passionate about spending time on volunteer projects surrounding international humanitarian work and enjoys baking and reading.


Alessandro Mannucci, M.D. graduated from San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy. During his university years, he researched hereditary syndromes that cause colorectal and endometrial cancer (including Lynch syndrome) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Upon receiving his M.D., he worked as a gastroenterology and endoscopy resident at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. Dr. Mannucci's research focuses on hereditary cancer syndromes and mechanisms of early detection and prevention. At City of Hope, he hopes to understand the early events that lead to colon cancer development and immune evasion. Besides research, he enjoys mountaineering, reading, and traveling.


Takayuki Noma, M.D., graduated from Tokushima University of Medicine in Japan. In Japan he worked as a digestive surgeon.
He played rugby football at university and enjoys fishing and cooking.


Takumi Onoyama, M.D., Ph.D., obtained his medical degree (M.D.) and doctorate (Ph.D.) from Tottori University. Before joining City of Hope, Dr. Onoyama worked as a gastrointestinal physician and Endoscopist in Tottori, Japan.
Dr. Onoyama's research focuses on the development of biomarkers for the early detection of gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular emphasis on pancreaticobiliary carcinoma. Additionally, he aims to predict the response to chemotherapy in these cases.


Courtney Quan is a research associate and lab manager in the Ajay Goel lab. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant for a genome-wide association study where she identified genetic variants associated with hyperemesis gravidarum. Outside of work, Courtney enjoys reading and running.


Shalini Shah graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During her undergraduate years she worked as a research assistant for an Alzheimer's and Dementia clinical trial and later went on to work in a lab where she researched the role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in neurodegenerative disease. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and cooking/baking.


Katsutoshi Shoda, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan, as a gastrointestinal surgeon at Yamanashi University before joining City of Hope. He obtained his Ph.D. from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, and his research focused on the biomarkers relevant to treatment using liquid biopsies in gastric cancer. In addition to his research, he enjoys watching sports such as soccer and baseball and listening to soul music.


Silei Sui graduated from Dalian Medical University with a Ph.D. in oncology and worked on the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of colorectal cancer before joining City of Hope. After graduation, she worked as a visiting postdoctoral under the guidance of Ajay Goel, Ph.D., M.S., at City of Hope. She aims to identify clinical biomarkers for improving the survival and treatment effect of colorectal cancer based on a multi-omics NGS approach.
Sui is skilled in Python, R, and machine learning and experienced in the biological analysis of genome sequencing, transcriptional sequencing and single-cell sequencing data.
Outside of work, she enjoys fitness and listening to music.


Caiming Xu, M.D., Ph.D., worked as a visiting postdoctor under the guidance of Ajay Goel, Ph.D., M.S., at City of Hope. He obtained both his M.D. and Ph.D. in surgery at Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, China. His Ph.D. research focuses on molecular mechanism of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and acute pancreatitis. He revealed that the infiltration of immune cells may represent a possible target in the treatment of PDAC.
His research interest focuses on identifying novel biomarkers and targeting molecules for diagnosis and therapeutics of pancreatobiliary tumors using multi-omics NGS approach.
Outside of work, he enjoys football and ping-pong.
- Qinghua Huang, Global Scholar, 2022-2023
- Jiang Li, Global Scholar, 2022-2023
- Katsuki Miyazaki, Postdoctoral Fellow 2021-2023
- Keisuke Okuno, Assistant Professor 2021-2023
- Milad Moloudizargari, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-2022
- Manikandan Murugesan, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021-2022
- Kota Nakamura, Visiting Scholar, 2021-2022
- Viktor Hlavac, Visiting Scholar, 2021-2022
- Jasmine Kasanke, Research Associate II, 2021-2022
- Nour-Lynn Mouallem, Research Associate, 2021-2022
- Nadia Houerbi, Research Associate II, 2021-2022
- Souvik Ghatak, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2022
- Souvick Roy, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2022
- Samarjit Sambanduram, Research Associate II, 2018-2022
- Tikam Dakal, Staff Scientist, 2022
- Hiroyuki Hanayama, Visiting Scholar, 2022
- Yinghui Zhao, Visiting Scholar, 2020-2021
- Long Vu, Research Associate II, 2020-2021
- Anthony Chonopoulos, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2021
- Divya Sahu, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020-2021
- Rachana Garg, Staff Scientist, 2020-2021
- In Seob Lee, Visiting Scholar, 2019-2021
- Geeta Sharma, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2019-2021
- Yuma Wada, Visiting Scholar, 2019-2021
- Zhongxu Zhu, Visiting Graduate Researcher, 2021
- Yogi Pratama, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2021
- Yuki Sanagawa, Visiting Scholar, 2021
- Yu Chen, Visiting Graduate Researcher, 2021
- Huanlin Wang, Visiting Scholar, 2019-2020
- Yasuyuki Okada, Visiting Scholar, 2019-2020
- Satoshi Nishiwada, Visiting Scholar, 2018-2020
- Tatsuhiko Kakisaka, Visiting Scholar, 2018-2020
- Yasheshwari Tripathi, Research Associate I, 2017-2020
- Francis Maria Esposito, Visiting Scholar, 2020
- Xiaoe Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2020
- Yuetong Chen, Visiting Graduate Researcher, 2020
- Ravi Yadav, Research Associate I, 2018-2019
- Tong Liu, Visiting Scholar, 2017-2019
We are looking for enthusiastic, self-motivated individuals who thrive in a fast-paced, challenging startup research environment, and who can interact well with others as part of a cohesive team. If you have a desire to make a significant impact in health care, and have the fortitude to work hard, we invite you take a look at the available career listings below or contact us at slogue@coh.org.
These organizations are invaluable partners in our work toward progressing the development of new treatments in our specialized areas of research.


The researchers looked at 210 plasma samples from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients, some of whom had neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) ...

Dr. Ajay Goel highlighted the importance of colon cancer screenings and provided insight on the new screening guidelines for patients.

DDW 2021 abstract - Transcriptomic Profiling Identifies a Risk Stratification Signature for Predicting Peritoneal Recurrence and Micrometastasis in Gastric Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, there will be about 150,000 new cases of colon cancer this year alone, and more than 50,000 deaths.

Assessment of the Diagnostic Efficiency of a Liquid Biopsy Assay for Early Detection of Gastric Cancer