2024 Speaker
Linda H. Malkas, Ph.D.
M.T. & B.A. Ahmadinia Professor in Molecular Oncology, City of Hope
DR. LINDA H. MALKAS is a Professor of Molecular Diagnostics and Experimental Therapeutics at City of Hope and serves as the Dean for Translational Science, External Affairs. She is a world-renowned expert in the areas of DNA replication and repair, as well as cancer cell biomarker and therapeutic target discovery. She has had a stellar scientific career, advancing research in women’s health with a particular focus on breast cancer as well as in the children’s cancer neuroblastoma. She is best known for her discovery of a molecule that can inhibit certain activities in cancerous cells. In 2017, Malkas was named to the board of CIRM, California’s revolutionary stem cell research center. She also serves on the External Advisory Boards of several major National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers throughout the US. In addition, she chairs the Oncology Study Section of the Veterans Administration, serves on the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Integration Panel, and has chaired several National Cancer Institute study sections. She came to City of Hope specifically for its reputation as a bench-to-bedside facility – a place where laboratory discoveries quickly make their way to patients. Her new drug AOH1996 that specifically targets the form of the PCNA molecule in cancer cells entered first in human phase one clinical trial at City of Hope in September 2022.