Stephen Gruber was named director of City of Hope’s newly founded Center for Precision Medicine. He will lead a team of more than 14 researchers focused on personalized cancer prevention and treatment plans.
“City of Hope is at the forefront of precision medicine. We utilize our affiliate TGen’s GEM ExTra test to assay all DNA-coding regions and to provide full RNA analysis of the human genome; as a result, we provide the most comprehensive genomic assessment available for clinical cancer testing,” said Michael Caligiuri, president of City of Hope National Medical Center and the Deana and Steve Campbell Physician-in-Chief Distinguished Chair. “Dr. Stephen Gruber’s previous experience as director of a comprehensive cancer center and international authority in genomic medicine leaves no doubt in my mind that he is the right person to lead our collaborative efforts to provide patients with the most appropriate personalized cancer care.”
Gruber is a medical oncologist and 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 this underdiagnosed inherited condition.
“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,” Gruber said in a statement. “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 given a boost through its affiliate, the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), which provides access to Ashion and GEMExTra, both of which provide clinical genomic sequencing and analysis technology.
Gruber is a former director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and an attending physician at the cancer center and at Keck Hospital of USC. He was also a professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
