Dr. Phillips earned his medical degree from Rush University, followed by a residency in internal medicine at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago. His fellowship training in oncology/hematology took place at University Hospitals in Cleveland. Before joining City of Hope, he was a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan, where he was appointed the Maria Reinhardt DeCesare Research Professor of Blood Cancers and Bone Marrow Transplantation.