Jim Korkola received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1999, where he was part of the lab of Michael Archer, Ph.D., in the Department of Medical Biophysics. He worked on mechanisms of resistance to chemically induced mammary tumors in Copenhagen rats.

Dr. Korkola moved to UCSF for postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Fred Waldman, Ph.D., in 1999. There, his work focused on understanding expression changes associated with the lobular subtype of breast cancer, as well as changes associated with patient outcome. 

In 2003, Dr. Korkola moved to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where he worked in the lab of Raju Chaganti, Ph.D. His work there focused on understanding the molecular signals underlying testicular cancer formation, differentiation, and outcome.

In 2008, Dr. Korkola joined the lab of Joe Gray, Ph.D. His initial work there focused on identification of drug combinations that synergize in breast cancer, and the underlying molecular mechanisms that determine response. The Gray Lab relocated to OHSU in 2011, and in 2015, Dr. Korkola became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a faculty member of the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine, and a member of the Knight Cancer Institute.