Leadership

Dr. Axel Schönthal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

His research is focused on novel agents and delivery methods for improving cancer therapeutic regimens, particularly for brain cancers.

Dr. Schönthal also heads the Schönthal Lab at Keck Medical. The lab performs preclinical cancer research and pursues anticancer drug development. The focus is on brain malignancies, which include primary brain cancers (such as glioblastoma) and secondary brain cancers (such as melanoma or breast cancer that has spread to the brain). At the lab, Dr. Schönthal works in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Chen, founder and CEO of NeOnc Technologies Holdings. This joint approach supports interdisciplinary efforts that translate laboratory findings into patient applications.

Dr. Schönthal has authored or co-authored 180 scholarly articles with an H-Index of 50.

Over the past 10 years, he has engaged in grant reviews for The Qatar National Research Fund which includes applications for the Undergraduate Research Experience Program that engages students in research projects under the guidance of academic and business mentors.

Dr. Schönthal received his Ph.D. from the University of Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe, Germany. He also holds a Postdoc in molecular and cellular cancer biology from the University of Southern California in San Diego, California.