Research Faculty

Dr. Belldegrun has a distinguished career as a visionary surgeon, scientist and life sciences entrepreneur. He is the Founding Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology at UCLA and the Founder of the UCLA Kidney Cancer Program, Professor of Urology, and holder of the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Director of Cancer Data Science for the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Associate Director of Cancer Informatics at the Institute for Precision Health, Professor of Human Genetics with a secondary appointment in Urology, as well as an integral member of the Institute of Urologic Oncology and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Jonathan G. Braun, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-researcher devoted to the roles of the immune system in resistance and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and cancer.

Dr. Brisbane obtained his medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California. He completed a residency in Urology at the University of Washington. His research at the University of Washington included work at the Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound where he studied novel ablative therapy for kidney cancer using focused ultrasound.

Associate Professor of Urology and Director of Research, Dr. Isla P. Garraway received her Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University and completed the Medical Scientist (MD-PhD) Training Program (MSTP) at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA with a doctorate in Molecular Biology. Upon completion of the UCLA Urology residency program, she joined the UCLA faculty.

Associate Professor in the Departments of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology and Urology. Dr. Goldstein earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Dartmouth College and his PhD in Molecular Biology from UCLA in the laboratory of Dr. Owen Witte. He went on to become the inaugural Fellow of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UCLA focusing on epithelial stem cell and cancer biology.

Michael Teitell, M.D., Ph.D. was appointed as the director of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center on August 8, 2017. Teitell holds the Latta Endowed Chair in Pathology and is a full professor in the Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, with joint appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Bioengineering. He serves as Physician and Chief of the Division of Pediatric and Neonatal Pathology and he has been a member of the cancer center since 1999.

Founding Director of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center; University Professor of the University of California; Presidential Chair in Developmental Immunology, and Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Dr. Witte has made significant scientific contributions to the understanding of human leukemias, immune disorders and epithelial cancers.

Dr. Wu is a Professor in the Departments of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Urology, and Pediatrics. Following her undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Wu was a member of the inaugural class of the UCLA Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D., Ph.D. program). 

Associate Professor in Urology and Member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. His current work is focused on cancer immunodiagnosis, immunotherapy, and prostate cancer stem cell biology. 

Ms. Zomorodian is the Director of the Genitourinary Clinical Trials Unit and Assistant Professor and Nurse Practitioner for the Department of Urology. She received her BS and Masters of Science in Nursing from the Hahnermann University in Philadelphia and is working on her PhD in Research Nursing at UCLA.