The Cancer Genetics Laboratory was established in 1980 and is one of the larger medical research groups in New Zealand consisting of up to 25 personnel including research fellows, postdoctoral fellows, technical staff and graduate students. The major focus of the Cancer Genetics Laboratory is to determine the genetic changes associated with neoplasia.

Research in the laboratory involves a number of major research projects which straddle the broad areas of embryology, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology and tumourigenesis. The overall aim of the group is to dissect out the genetic events which lead to cancer. Cancer is essentially a disease of the genes. Identification of the mutated genes in cancer will lead to improvements in diagnostic methods. If the function of these genes can be found then this could help in the design of better therapies.