
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.


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


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.


Katsuki Miyazaki, M.D., graduated from Tokushima University and worked as a general surgeon in Japan prior to joining City of Hope. Dr. Miyazaki has participated in research fields concerned with tumor immunity, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and regenerative medicine in Japan. At City of Hope, Dr. Miyazaki’s goal is to research clinical biomarkers that can change the treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal cancer, especially hepato-biliary-pancreatic cancer.


Keisuke Okuno, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Tokyo Medical and Dental University and worked in Tokyo, Japan, as a gastric surgeon prior to joining City of Hope. He obtained his Ph.D. from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and his Ph.D. research focused on the role of histone methylation in gastric cancer progression.
Dr. Okuno’s research interest is to elucidate the mechanism of cancer progression and find clinical biomarkers that can improve the prognosis of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. He is also interested in liquid biopsies that can easily diagnose cancer and predict the recurrence of cancer.
In addition to his research, he likes to play golf and travel with his family around Los Angeles.


Courtney Quan is a research associate and lab manager in Ajay Goel Lab.


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.
- Samarjit Sambanduram, Research Associate II
- Ravi Yadav, Research Associate I
- Yasheshwari Tripathi, Research Associate I
- Souvik Ghatak, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Tong Liu, Visiting Scholar
- Francis Maria Esposito, Visiting Scholar
- Huanlin Wang, Visiting Scholar
- Satoshi Nishiwada, Visiting Scholar
- Tatsuhiko Kakisaka, Visiting Scholar
- Xiaoe Zhang, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Yasuyuki Okada, Visiting Scholar
- Yuetong Chen, Visiting Graduate Researcher
- Long Vu, Research Associate II
- Jasmine Kasanke, Research Associate II
- Anthony Chonopoulos, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Divya Sahu, Postdoctoral Fellow
- In Seob Lee, Visiting Scholar
- Nadia Houerbi, Research Associate II
- Geeta Sharma, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Yuma Wada, Visiting Scholar
- Yinghui Zhao, Visiting Scholar
- Yuki Sanagawa, Visiting Scholar
- Milad Moloudizargari
- Manikandan Murugesan
- Hiroyuki Hanayama
- Kota Nakamura
- Souvick Roy
- Nour-Lynn Mouallem
- Rachana Garg, Staff Scientist
- Yu Chen, Visiting Graduate Researcher
- Viktor Hlavac, Visiting Scholar
- Yogi Pratama, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Zhongxu Zhu, Visiting Graduate Researcher
- Tikam Dakal, Staff Scientist
- Qinghua Huang, Global Scholar
- Jiang Li, Global Scholar
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.

34.1379888, -118.0192492
Monrovia, CA 91016