Jonathan Chou, MD, PHD

Dr. Jonathan Chou cares for patients with cancers affecting the genital and urinary organs, including prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancers. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, he applies precision medicine techniques – which take into account an individual's genes, lifestyle and other factors – to treatment, with targeted therapies and immunotherapy among the components in his oncology arsenal.

Chou is a physician-scientist, a doctor particularly focused on medical research. His areas of research include developing more precise ways to treat cancer. He studies molecular subtypes of cancer and uses genome-editing technology to engineer cell models in the lab, seeking to understand how specific mutations affect cancer properties. He also uses genetic and drug screening to find new ways of killing cancer cells, and incorporates patient-derived tumor xenografts (models in which cells from a patient’s tumor are implanted in an animal) to investigate drug resistance.

Chou earned his medical degree and a doctorate in biomedical sciences from UCSF. He also completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in oncology at UCSF.

In his free time, Chou loves trying new bakeries and restaurants around San Francisco. He and his wife enjoy going to the beach with their young daughter and their Aussiedoodle.