Announcement

JUNE 16, 2022

The Mischel lab is honored that Team eDyNAmiC will have the opportunity to tackle the ecDNA Cancer Grand Challenge.

We are grateful for the opportunity and committed to working together to make a difference for patients with ecDNA-driven cancers. It is a thrill to work with such an amazing group of colleagues. We are grateful to the Cancer Grand Challenges Program, Cancer Research UK, and the National Cancer Institute for their vision and wisdom. Together, we are committed to making a difference for people with cancer.  

Feature Publications

Photo: Because ecDNAs are unevenly distributed between daughter cells, they drive variation among the cancerous cell population, fueling natural selection. See full infographic: WEB | PDF © Emma Cheng

THE SCIENTIST, April 2021

Cancer May Be Driven by DNA Outside of Chromosomes

In the last decade, researchers have come to realize that tumors harbor bits of extrachromosomal DNA that can drive malignancy.

In the spring of 2012, my colleagues and I began to notice something strange in tumor cells from patients with glioblastoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer, who were coming into our clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles. From genomic...

Extrachromosomal DNA is associated with oncogene amplification and poor outcome across multiple cancers

NATURE GENETICS, August 2020

Extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) amplification promotes intratumoral genetic heterogeneity and accelerated tumor evolution1,2,3; however, its frequency and clinical impact are unclear. Using computational analysis...

Circular ecDNA promotes accessible chromatin and high oncogene expression

NATURE, November 2019

Oncogenes are commonly amplified on particles of extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in cancer1,2, but our understanding of the structure of ecDNA and its effect on gene regulation is limited. Here, by integrating ultrastructural imaging, long-range optical mapping and computational analysis of whole-genome sequencing, we demonstrate...

Oncogene Amplification in Growth Factor Signaling Pathways Renders Cancers Dependent on Membrane Lipid Remodeling

CELL METABOLISM, September 2019

Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have reshaped our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer, providing a precise genomic view of tumors. Complementary biochemical and biophysical perspectives of cancer point toward profound shifts in nutrient uptake and...

 

NAD metabolic dependency in cancer is shaped by gene amplification and enhancer remodeling

NATURE, May 2019

Precision oncology hinges on linking tumour genotype with molecularly targeted drugs1; however, targeting the frequently dysregulated metabolic landscape of cancer has proven to be a major challenge2. Here we show that tissue context is the major determinant of dependence on the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) metabolic pathway in cancer. By analysing more than 7,000 tumours and...

We are hiring!

The Paul Mischel Laboratory has relocated to ChEM-H at Stanford ChEMH. Paul is Professor and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine and Institute Scholar, ChEM-H, Stanford University.

We are now expanding and considering new applications for post-doctoral fellowships. The laboratory studies extrachromosomal oncogene amplification in cancer. Applicants who are intellectually curious and interested in working in a lab that spans from mechanistic discovery to clinical medicine, and who are interested in science that bridges cancer genetics, epigenetics, cellular metabolism, and signal transduction, are encouraged to apply.

Post-doctoral scientists in the lab will conduct cutting-edge research in a protected, interactive, and highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment, with access to shared sequencing, imaging, proteomic, metabolomic, and bioinformatic platforms. We actively engage in co-mentoring of trainees at all levels, building close co-mentoring relationships with Howard Chang at Stanford on ecDNA biology, Vineet Bafna at UCSD on computational aspects of ecDNA biology, and Ben Cravatt at TSRI on cancer metabolism.

Qualifications for these positions include Ph.D., M.D., or M.D., Ph.D. degree(s) (or anticipate receiving their degree in the near future) with less than 3 years of post-doctoral experience. Candidates with relevant training involving DNA and chromatin biology, genetics, epigenetics, genomics, signal transduction, cancer metabolism, or related fields are particularly encouraged to apply.

Interested applicants should submit the following documents in PDF format to pmischel@stanford.edu:

  • A Cover Letter describing your interest in this position
  • A CV with education and training background, and a list of publications
  • A 2-page Research Statement summarizing your current research and future research interest
  • Reference letter(s) including from your current mentor(s), or a list of references


We evaluate every applicant equally. Successful candidates will be invited for a Skype or on-site interview with the PI and will have the opportunity to meet with the current lab members.

Celebrating the new journey of our trainees

Recent trainees from the Mischel lab have gone on to successful independent careers in academic medicine and science (David Nathanson, UCLA, Deliang Guo, OSU, David Akhavan KU, Kenta Masui Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Feng Lui Shanghai, Jiaotong University, Tomoo Matsutani, Chiba University, Kazu Tanaka Kobe University, Shiro Ikegami Chiba University, Akio Iwanami, Keio University, Koji Yoshimoto, Chair of Neurosurgery, Kagoshima University, Sihan Wu, UT Southwestern Children's Research Institute, Mathieu Bakhoum, Yale University).

Recent trainees from the Mischel lab have also moved on to exciting Academic and Biotech positions (Jengfu Bi, Assistant Professor, Fudan University, China and Joshua Lange, Scientist, Bondloess Bio Company).

Jengfu Bi, PhD

We are thrilled to announce that Jengfu Bi, our previous postdoc scientist, has joined Fudan University, China as Assistant Professor.


Joshua Lange, PhD

Our previous PhD Student Joshua Lange has joined Boundlessbio Company as Research Scientist.

Paul Mischel Lab

Stanford ChEM-H
290 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305