Irell and Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences

The biotech industry was launched by investigators at City of Hope when they created the technology that led to the first human recombinant gene products, insulin and human growth hormone, which are now in use by millions of people worldwide. The most recent class of blockbuster drugs, humanized monoclonal antibodies, is based upon a core technology developed by our Beckman Research Institute researchers. Both basic science and translational biomedical research flourish here, in a collegial atmosphere in which cross-communication thrives and basic science findings are often applied to the cure of life-threatening diseases.

The graduate school enrolled its first class of students in 1994. Our graduates have gone on to academic appointments and postdoctoral fellowships at National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute and some of the nation’s best universities, as well as to positions in major biotech and pharmaceutical companies. City of Hope’s interdisciplinary research programs provide students with many opportunities to enrich their graduate education by interacting with other graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members outside of their own areas of specialization. City of Hope has a strong track record in training both predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows. In addition, we host undergraduate researchers in our extensive summer internship program.