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There is no single event that inspired Dr. Taha Merghoub’s journey from his childhood in the Sahara Desert to his recent appointment as deputy director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine.  

“My life has been a series of open and closed doors,” Dr. Merghoub said. 

But one thing that has remained constant throughout his life is his streak of perseverance. He doesn’t relent when an idea pops in his head, and he’s constantly in search of a challenge. 

At 21, Dr. Merghoub rejected the simple project he was assigned as a graduation requirement at the University of Algiers to embark on a self-chosen epidemiological study on the prevalence of sickle cell and thalassemia in M’zab, a limestone plateau occupied by a predominantly Muslim community.  

“I only realized later how crazy and ambitious my project was,” Dr. Merghoub said. 

He approached the Red Crescent (equivalent of Red Cross), the military hospital and several labs in Algiers. The local hospital offered an ambulance and a nurse to accompany him to the local schools, where he collected over 700 blood samples. He worked with the labs and epidemiologists to discover a new variant that was prevalent in the Berber speaking population, an ethnic group indigenous to North Africa.  

In the end, he couldn’t crack the DNA code on his own. But he brought the samples along to every lab he worked at, until, at last, he was able to with the help of fellow researchers. At 24, he wrote a paper on it, which was published in the European Journal of Human Genetics.  

A Family that Pushed Boundaries  

M’zab was very traditional. “Although my parents followed certain rules, we didn’t fit the mold. We did things differently,” he said.  

His grandfather taught French under colonized Algeria in a community known for trade and commerce. His father, a Swiss-trained doctor, was one of the first physicians in M’zab in 1962. His five sisters were among the first girls to go to public school. His mother drove a car before it was socially acceptable for a woman to be on the road.  

Dr. Merghoub credits his upbringing for his ability to seek answers to complex questions. He is keen to note that he was mischievous at times. His mother was frustrated that he broke apart all the watches and radios in the house, always trying to figure out how things worked, and he sometimes bathed the family cat without permission and trimmed his kitty mustache.  

Being raised in a household built on simplicity, practicality and being able to push boundaries informed how he approaches the world. 

“These little things in how our parents raise us make a difference,” he said. 

 Path to Cancer Research 

After graduating from the University of Algiers, he enrolled in the University of Paris, France, where he pursued his master’s in science and a doctorate in human genetics. He looked for a lab in Paris that studied globin. There were groups in Algeria that studied molecular biology in globin and, like his father, he wanted to go back home someday.  

“I was always more interested in research rather than medicine. Sometimes there was a mile-long line of patients waiting to see my dad at 6 a.m., and I didn’t want to commit to that kind of work. That was very naïve of me,” Dr. Merghoub laughed.   

His doctoral studies focused on sickle cell anemia and eventually brought him to Dr. Pandolfi’s lab, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where gene translocations in blood cancer were a focus.  

“The subject fascinated me. I changed fields completely,” he said. 

Here, Dr. Merghoub characterized the Zbtb7 gene, which is important for the growth and differentiation of multiple cell types, in addition to its critical role in oncogenesis. 

As he started life as a postdoc, his dad was getting treatment for lymphoma in Switzerland. Trying to balance the demands of academia and the realization that he might lose his father proved challenging. 

“I was studying and traveling to spend time with my father. At some point, he almost passed. But he didn’t want any more of the treatment. He wanted to go back home to Algeria and be with his family.” 

Dr. Merghoub returned to New York City, attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy.  

“In retrospect, that was a poor decision. When your father has three months left, do you stay with him or go back to your post-doc?” 

He continued powering through his work, visiting his father in Algeria as often as he could. When his father passed, Dr. Merghoub was overwhelmed with grief. He wanted to stay home longer, but he also felt the pressure to return to work—he had an R01.  

“That was a jolt,” he said, recognizing that taking time off to mourn wouldn’t have affected his work trajectory but would have been good for his mental health. “I rushed back with my wife and felt it was a horrible year. It’s New York, aggressive, and English was hard. Everything was different. We’re wired in the French way. That first year I wanted to quit, but at the same time, we worked like crazy.” 

Fate Brings Drs. Merghoub and Wolchok Together  

Later in his career, Dr. Merghoub sought out Dr. Alan Houghton, an immunotherapy pioneer, looking for mentorship. In a twist of fate, he was offered a senior research scientist role in the Houghton lab. Dr. Jedd Wolchok worked on vaccines in the same lab.   

“I was more of the geek, doing mouse modeling, and Jedd made all the practical applications. Because I was doing mouse modeling, I’d advise them on how to design excellent research. My weekly half-hour meetings with Alan were my favorite work hours. Here I was falling in love with tumor immunology.”  

Drs. Merghoub and Wolchok got along very well as colleagues, sharing ideas and building strategies. They also became close friends, getting weekly lunches together and spending time with their families. Over time, they built a productive and energetic lab of their own, working on projects to investigate the pathogenesis and treatment of melanoma, among other studies.  

“Although the scientific community says they value team science, we don’t value partnerships. And this isn’t specific to science. Every system, every grant mechanism, every promotion system, everything around us doesn’t appreciate things and people that don’t fit into a box, and our partnership didn’t. Sometimes people asked, ‘Who’s the PI? Why do you need two PIs?’ Everything you want to do requires that you push boundaries. Push boundaries. Push boundaries,” Dr. Merghoub said. 

Both doctors have very different personalities, bringing a different lens to the challenges they face. The common goal of trying to find cancer therapies is the glue that holds them together.  

“Every relationship has challenges, and we’ve had our share of tensions and disagreements to resolve. But we’ve learned how to resolve them constructively for the betterment of the team and the work. We also don’t stifle each other,” Dr. Merghoub said. 

Now, 15 years after they started working together, a time that Dr. Wolchok believes was “great preparation for these leadership roles,” they move together – across the street, from the Zuckerman Research Center to the Belfer Research Building. 

Balancing Family and a Future at Meyer Cancer Center 

Dr. Merghoub credits his wife, Aziza, his daughter, Safaa, and son, Salah, for keeping him grounded. They understand that the nature of his work might take him away from home for long periods, but his wife always reminds him that though his brain can handle his ambitions, his body can't. He enjoys cooking to recharge: baking bread, making mozzarella, or trying new recipes on the weekend. When inspired, he might play the Darbuka, an Algerian drum. 

He also dedicates time to the foundation he created in his hometown under his father's name to make medical care accessible to everyone, especially women.  

At the Meyer Cancer Center, Dr. Merghoub hopes to “have the time, energy and inspiration” to push research forward with the scientific community he values. He hopes Meyer Cancer Center’s laboratory research can be leveraged into tomorrow's therapies. 

Dr. Wolchok has no doubt that this will be the case. “Taha’s dedication to truly translational scientific research will ensure that that Meyer Cancer Center can deliver on its promise to better understand the complexities of cancer biology so that new and better therapies reach the specific patients who need them most.” 

Having lost beloved family members to cancer, Dr. Merghoub strikes a solemn note. 

“I want to build on Meyer Cancer Center’s ongoing work to reach the underrepresented groups in Brooklyn and Queens. Not for the news, but a lasting breakthrough."