Meet the Scientist

Bodour Salhia, PhD

Assistant Professor of Translational Genomics

Dr. Salhia is a translational genomics scientist with extensive knowledge and expertise in mechanisms that underlie tumorigenesis and tumor biology. She was trained at the University of Toronto in Canada, where her PhD research focused on brain tumors. After completing her PhD, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where she began studying breast cancer metastasis (how breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body), and multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.  Dr. Salhia has spent her career studying how and why cancerous tumors grow, how they spread, and how this information can change cancer treatment for patients. In her lab at USC, Dr. Salhia uses the latest techniques and laboratory technologies in genetics & epigenetics to conduct her research, which is supported by numerous federal, philanthropic and industry grants that allow her lab to lead many exciting research studies. She also co-leads the Translational Epigenomics Laboratory of the Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators’ Consortium (POETIC), and is the co-chair of an International Translational Genomics Initiative led by POETIC and the Eugene Gasana Jr. Foundation.

Dr. Salhia has a passion for community outreach and engagement, and believes in connecting with the people she hopes her research will make a difference to. She has volunteered with the Arizona Myeloma Network, The Wellness Community, and Susan G. Komen affiliates in Phoenix and Los Angeles. As part of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Dr. Salhia was a Community Outreach Ambassador and Board member in the Arizona affiliate from 2013-2016. Bodour has worked to raise breast cancer awareness in underserved communities of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, and in Egypt as a US delegate. 

 

Dr. Salhia’s commitment to community service has been recognized by many awards, including a service award from the Arizona Myeloma Network. She has been named one of 20 Faces of Komen in 2012 and 2013, and in June 2014, was the recipient of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 award.

Bodour Salhia, PhD

Assistant Professor of Translational Genomics

Dr. Salhia is a translational genomics scientist with extensive knowledge and expertise in mechanisms that underlie tumorigenesis and tumor biology. She merges cutting edge genomics/epigenomics analyses with cell biological and functional studies towards the investigation of clinically relevant problems in human cancer. During her undergraduate and graduate research training at the University of Toronto, she focused intensively on the study of glioblastoma. Her post-doctoral work focused on the genomics and epigenomics of breast cancer metastasis and multiple myeloma. She also characterized the function of AKT1(E17K) in breast cancer and performed immunophenotypic analysis of breast cancer in North Africa. She leads numerous DNA methylation studies using a plethora of both array and sequencing based technologies to measure whole genome and targeted CpG methylation changes in a variety of diseases. She co-leads the Translational Epigenomics Laboratory of the Pediatric Oncology Experimental Therapeutics Investigators’ Consortium (POETIC), where she is focused on identifying whole genome DNA methylation aberrations in relapsed and refractory pediatric cancer. She is the co-chair of an International Translational Genomics Initiative led by POETIC and the Eugene Gasana Jr. Foundation. In addition, she has an active program in clinical epigenetics and is among the leaders in developing DNA methylation liquid biopsies. Her lab is in the process of developing DNA methylation liquid biopsies for breast cancer recurrence (including for women in Nigeria), pediatric cancer and bladder cancer. Dr. Salhia’s lab also has research efforts in experimental therapeutics of brain metastasis by utilizing patient-derived xenografts and cell lines her lab developed to identify novel treatment methods for this dismal disease. She has numerous grants from federal agencies, foundations and industry.

Dr. Salhia finds it extremely important to connect with the people her research is attempting to serve. She has volunteered with the Arizona Myeloma Network, The Wellness Community, and Susan G. Komen affiliates in Phoenix and Los Angeles. She has travelled to Egypt as a US Delegate with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness about breast cancer and she has worked with underserved minorities on the Navajo Nation in Arizona.  She served as a Community Outreach Ambassador and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Arizona between 2012-2016. She has received numerous community awards including a service award by the Arizona Myeloma Network. She has been named one of 20 Faces of Komen in 2012 and 2013 and in June 2014 was the recipient of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 award.

Publications