Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program
The Samuel Bakhoum Lab
Research

Assistant Professor
The Bakhoum lab focuses on understanding the role of chromosomal instability (CIN) in tumor evolution and progression. CIN is a hallmark of human cancer and it is associated with poor prognosis, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. It results from errors in chromosome segregation during mitosis, leading to structural and numerical chromosomal abnormalities. In addition to generating genomic heterogeneity that acts as a substrate for natural selection, CIN promotes inflammatory signaling by introducing genomic double-stranded DNA into the cytosol, engaging cytosolic DNA-sensing antiviral innate immune pathways. Our team has also identified CIN as an important driver of epigenetic heterogeneity and reprogramming in cancer. These multipronged effects distinguish CIN as a central driver of tumor evolution and as a genomic source for the crosstalk between the tumor and its microenvironment. Our lab is interested in dissecting the mechanisms linking CIN and cancer progression and translating these discoveries into novel therapeutic strategies.
Research Projects

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Samuel Bakhoum, MD, PhD
Assistant Member, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program; Assistant Attending, Department of Radiation Oncology
Assistant Professor
- Physician-scientist Samuel Bakhoum studies the role of chromosomal instability in tumor evolution and metastasis.
- MD, Dartmouth Medical School
- PhD, Dartmouth College
- [email protected]
- Email Address
- View physician profile
- Physician profile
Members








Weill Cornell Graduate Student

Medical Oncology Fellow

Research Technician (mucosal melanoma translational program)

Postdoctoral Fellow

Postdoctoral Fellow

Senior Research Technician

Visiting Professor and Collaborator

Graduate Research Assistant

Weill Cornell Medical Student

Postdoctoral Researcher (co-mentored by Dr. Atif Khan and Dr. Simon Powell)

Postdoctoral Fellow

Administrative Assistant



Lab Alumni

Administrative Assistant

Senior Research Technician

Current institution: Weill Cornell Medicine
Holman Research Fellow
Administrative Assistant

Postdoctoral Fellow
Lab Affiliations
Achievements
- Josie Robertson Investigator (2018-2023)
- AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award (Honorable mention)
- NIH Director’s Independence Award (2018-2023)
- Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists (Finalist) (2018)
- Tri-Institutional Breakout Prize (2018)
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- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists (2018)
- NextGen Stars, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (2018)
- Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award, Department of Defense (2016)
- ASCI/AAP Outstanding Young Investigator Award (2011)
- Norton B. Gilula Award, the American Society for Cell Biology (2008)
Open Positions
To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center
To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs
Computational Biology/Cancer Bioinformatics Positions
General Opportunity
Postdoctoral Positions
Get in Touch
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Lab Head Email
Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Samuel Bakhoum discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
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Volastra Therapeutics Inc.
Fiduciary Role/Position; Intellectual Property Rights; Ownership / Equity Interests; Provision of Services
The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].