This program's mission is to provide students with:

  • Advanced knowledge in current concepts in molecular, cellular, and genetic processes that contribute to the development and treatment of cancer
  • Specialized training in experimental methodology used to study cancer in a laboratory setting
  • Required shadowing of clinical oncologists to help identify clinically-relevant research questions leading to projects with a potential impact on cancer patients

Learn about our program's curriculum

Curriculum Overview

The Graduate College requires the satisfactory completion of 72 semester hours in order to obtain a Ph.D.

Required Courses

For the first year, students take common courses with other Biomedical Science students.

Cancer is a term that encompasses over 210 different types of malignancies, each with a unique set of biological, etiological, and clinical features. Cancer researchers continue to widen their scope as more is learned, requiring a breadth of knowledge in many areas of research (e.g. cell biology, genetics, immunology, and cell metabolism) to understand the complexities of cancer etiology and treatment.

The Cancer Biology Program provides this knowledge through classroom and research training leading to a PhD degree, and preparing students for a variety of career paths in academic, clinical, and industry environments dealing with the study and/or treatment of cancer.

A campus visual from the Carver College of Medicine outdoor lawn space.

Ready to apply?

You can learn more about the application process and requirements here.

Events

REDCap Advanced Training

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 10:00am to 11:00am
Virtual

This is the fourth step in the REDCap training series. In this training we will cover advanced features such as:

Importing data from a CSV file

Ways to customize your data entry experience with form display logic

Making your forms more dynamic and personalized with context aware smart variables

Sending automated, conditional email alerts

Ensuring data is high quality by executing data quality rules, creating data 'missingness' codes, and opening data queries

Register by clicking the virtual event link...

BMB Research Workshop

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 12:30pm to 1:20pm
Medical Education Research Facility

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology holds research workshops featuring internal speakers on Tuesdays, 12:30-1:20pm. For Fall 2026, these will occur in 1117 MERF. Presentation titles are not publicly available due to the use of unpublished research. Individuals interested in attending workshops or being added to the email list should contact the office at biochem@uiowa.edu.

Aug. 25: CANCELED

Sept. 1: CANCELED

Sept. 8: RESERVED

Sept. 15: Steve Guzman, PhD, Postdoc Fellow, Biomedical...

DeGowin Blood Drive @ Swisher Community American Legion promotional image

DeGowin Blood Drive @ Swisher Community American Legion

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 2:00pm to 6:00pm
Swisher Community American Legion
The DeGowin Blood Center is hosting a blood drive from 2 PM. to 6 PM on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026 at the Swisher Community American Legion Hall. Help the University of Iowa climb the Abbott & Big Ten We Give Blood Drive leaderboard and received a special-edition t-shirt from Abbott, while supplies last!