Bodour Salhia, PhD

Dr. Bodour Salhia is the Inaugural Interim Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology and the Royce & Mary Trotter Chair in Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She also co-leads the Epigenetic Regulation in Cancer (ERC) Program and serves as the Inaugural Director of the Preclinical Models Shared Resource at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. A recognized leader in academic medicine, she is a fellow of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program.A translational genomicist and epigenomicist, Dr. Salhia’s research integrates multi-omic technologies with functional and preclinical studies to address clinically urgent problems in cancer biology. Her work focuses on cfDNA methylation–based liquid biopsies for ovarian, breast, and colorectal cancer—efforts that have led to the development of OvaPrint™ for adnexal mass risk stratification and MammaTrace™ for minimal residual disease monitoring in breast cancer. She also leads the Eileen McGeever Breast Cancer Survivorship Program, advancing molecular approaches to recurrence risk prediction, and conducts research on the genomics and epigenomics of brain metastasis and degenerative eye disease. Her portfolio is supported by NIH, NSF, foundation, industry, and philanthropic funding. Motivated by the impact of liquid biopsy technologies on women’s health, she founded CpG Diagnostics, a USC spin-out dedicated to advancing cfDNA methylation diagnostics.Dr. Salhia is deeply committed to community engagement and patient-centered research. She founded The Bench with Bedside Initiative, a direct-to-patient research platform designed to bring scientists to patients and patients into the scientific process. Her outreach spans work with the Arizona Myeloma Network, The Wellness Community, Susan G. Komen, and underserved communities including the Navajo Nation. She has also traveled across Africa to support cancer education for scientists and clinicians. Her leadership and advocacy have earned numerous honors, including recognition as one of the “20 Faces of Komen,” Phoenix Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40, community service awards from the Arizona Myeloma Network, and the 2024 USC Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Service Award.

• A comprehensive analysis of minimally differentially methylated regions common to pediatric and adult solid tumors. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2024 Jun 01; 8(1):125.. View in PubMed
• Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Subpopulations With Diverse and Dynamic Roles in the Tumor Microenvironment. Mol Cancer Res. 2022 02; 20(2):183-192.. View in PubMed
• The Establishment and Utilization of Patient Derived Xenograft Models of Central Nervous System Metastasis. J Vis Exp. 2021 05 07; (171).. View in PubMed
• Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of KRAS mutant cell lines. Sci Rep. 2020 06 23; 10(1):10149.. View in PubMed
• Isolation and characterization of patient-derived CNS metastasis-associated stromal cell lines. Oncogene. 2019 05; 38(21):4002-4014.. View in PubMed
• Integrated genomic analysis of survival outliers in glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol. 2017 06 01; 19(6):833-844.. View in PubMed
• Pathway Implications of Aberrant Global Methylation in Adrenocortical Cancer. PLoS One. 2016; 11(3):e0150629.. View in PubMed
• Androgen receptor status is highly conserved during tumor progression of breast cancer. BMC Cancer. 2015 Nov 09; 15:872.. View in PubMed
• High tumor budding stratifies breast cancer with metastatic properties. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2015 Apr; 150(2):363-71.. View in PubMed
• Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of cell-free DNA identifies signature associated with metastatic breast cancer. Clin Epigenetics. 2015; 7:100.. View in PubMed
• Breast cancer in adolescent and young adult women. Clin Breast Cancer. 2014 Dec; 14(6):390-5.. View in PubMed
• Molecular biology of brain metastasis. Int J Mol Sci. 2014 May 28; 15(6):9519-30.. View in PubMed
• Small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type, displays frequent inactivating germline and somatic mutations in SMARCA4. Nat Genet. 2014 May; 46(5):427-9.. View in PubMed
• Current approaches to the treatment of metastatic brain tumours. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2014 Apr; 11(4):203-22.. View in PubMed
• Integrated genomic and epigenomic analysis of breast cancer brain metastasis. PLoS One. 2014; 9(1):e85448.. View in PubMed
• In vitro-differentiated neural cell cultures progress towards donor-identical brain tissue. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Sep 01; 22(17):3534-46.. View in PubMed
• Genome and transcriptome sequencing in prospective metastatic triple-negative breast cancer uncovers therapeutic vulnerabilities. Mol Cancer Ther. 2013 Jan; 12(1):104-16.. View in PubMed
• Differential effects of AKT1(p.E17K) expression on human mammary luminal epithelial and myoepithelial cells. Hum Mutat. 2012 Aug; 33(8):1216-27.. View in PubMed
• DNA methylation in multiple myeloma is weakly associated with gene transcription. PLoS One. 2012; 7(12):e52626.. View in PubMed
• Molecular subtype analysis determines the association of advanced breast cancer in Egypt with favorable biology. BMC Womens Health. 2011 Sep 30; 11:44.. View in PubMed
• DNA methylation analysis determines the high frequency of genic hypomethylation and low frequency of hypermethylation events in plasma cell tumors. Cancer Res. 2010 Sep 01; 70(17):6934-44.. View in PubMed
• The Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor SWAP-70 Modulates the Migration and Invasiveness of Human Malignant Glioma Cells. Transl Oncol. 2009 Dec; 2(4):300-9.. View in PubMed
• The guanine nucleotide exchange factors trio, Ect2, and Vav3 mediate the invasive behavior of glioblastoma. Am J Pathol. 2008 Dec; 173(6):1828-38.. View in PubMed
• The role of fascin in the migration and invasiveness of malignant glioma cells. Neoplasia. 2008 Feb; 10(2):149-59.. View in PubMed
• Role of myosin II activity and the regulation of myosin light chain phosphorylation in astrocytomas. Cell Motil Cytoskeleton. 2008 Jan; 65(1):12-24.. View in PubMed
• Current concepts in the molecular genetics of pediatric brain tumors: implications for emerging therapies. Childs Nerv Syst. 2006 Nov; 22(11):1379-94.. View in PubMed
• Molecular pathways triggering glioma cell invasion. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2006 Jul; 6(4):613-26.. View in PubMed
• Inhibition of Rho-kinase affects astrocytoma morphology, motility, and invasion through activation of Rac1. Cancer Res. 2005 Oct 01; 65(19):8792-800.. View in PubMed
• Analysis of mammalian septin expression in human malignant brain tumors. Neoplasia. 2004 Mar-Apr; 6(2):168-78.. View in PubMed
• Imaging of murine brain tumors using a 1.5 Tesla clinical MRI system. Can J Neurol Sci. 2003 Nov; 30(4):326-32.. View in PubMed
• The treatment of malignant meningioma with verotoxin. Neoplasia. 2002 Jul-Aug; 4(4):304-11.. View in PubMed
• Evaluation of proliferative index and cell cycle protein expression in choroid plexus tumors in children. Acta Neuropathol. 2002 Jan; 103(1):1-10.. View in PubMed
• Hyaluronate receptors mediating glioma cell migration and proliferation. J Neurooncol. 2001 Jun; 53(2):115-27.. View in PubMed
• Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by reactive astrocytes and associated neoangiogenesis. Brain Res. 2000 Nov 10; 883(1):87-97.. View in PubMed
• Adenoviral vector-mediated gene transfer: timing of wild-type p53 gene expression in vivo and effect of tumor transduction on survival in a rat glioma brachytherapy model. J Neurooncol. 2000 Aug; 49(1):27-39.. View in PubMed
• Inhibition of angiogenesis by blocking activation of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 leads to decreased growth of neurogenic sarcomas. Cancer Res. 1999 Nov 01; 59(21):5536-41.. View in PubMed
• Elective neurosurgical office consultations: how well are patients informed? Can J Public Health. 1998 Jul-Aug; 89(4):280-3.. View in PubMed

• Lenz, Heinz-Josef
• Haiman, Christopher