Yves DeClerck

Yves DeClerck, MD is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics (Part-Time) at the University of Southern California (USC), where he also holds a position as Tenured Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine. He is a Pediatrician-Scientist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and serves as the co-leader of the Tumor Microenvironment Program at the USC-Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Additionally, he is the Director for Research Education at the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disease.

Dr. DeClerck's research focuses on the tumor microenvironment and its contribution to cancer progression and metastasis, with a major emphasis on neuroblastoma, the second most common solid tumor in children. His laboratory investigates three primary research directions:

• Contribution of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) to neuroblastoma progression
• Contribution of exosomes and extracellular vesicles to the education of stromal cells by tumor cells
• Role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in cancer progression

His research program combines cell and molecular biology with pre-clinical animal models in mice, with the ultimate goal of designing early phase clinical trials in children with cancer through collaborations with clinical investigators at USC-Norris and CHLA. Dr. DeClerck has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1986, currently maintaining two R01 grants and a project in a multi-institutional program grant on neuroblastoma.

Dr. DeClerck has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including:

• USC: Associates Award for Creativity in Research (2013)
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles: Richard Call Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research Innovation (2010-present)
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles: Associates & Affiliates Endowed Chair in Cancer Biology (1994-present)
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles: H. Russell Smith Award for Innovation in Biomedical Research (1991)
• American Cancer Society: Junior Faculty Career Development Award (1982-1985)

Dr. DeClerck has served on multiple NIH study sections, was co-chair of the NCI Tumor Microenvironment Network, and is a senior editor for Cancer Research for the Tumor Microenvironment-Immunology section. His laboratory has trained 10 graduate students and 25 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom now work at academic institutions and in industry. He is also the PI on a longstanding (1991-present) NCI-funded T32 Program grant focused on education and career development.

His laboratory is located on the 5th floor of the Smith Research Tower at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He maintains collaborations with faculty at USC, Cornell, City of Hope, Harvard, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.