Barbara Graves, PhD, is senior director of basic science at Huntsman Cancer Institute. She is also professor and chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She is a co-leader of the Nuclear Control of Cell Growth and Differentiation Program.

Graves research focuses on how genes are turned on and off by regulatory proteins called transcription factors. Transcription is the process by which genetic code information passes from one cell to another. This gene expression process is essential for normal cell behavior and often goes awry in a cancer cell. A thorough understanding of how transcription factors and other molecular mechanisms control gene expression can lead to innovative new therapies and treatments for a variety of cancers. Graves's current focus is ETS transcription factors which are altered in human sarcomas, prostate cancer, and a variety of hematological malignancies.

A graduate of Rice University, Graves earned her PhD from the University of Washington and completed postdoctoral training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the Carnegie Institute of Washington. In addition to her leadership roles at the University of Utah, she serves on the National Cancer Institute’s panel for review of cancer centers.