School of Medicine
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Michitaka Nakano
Basic Life Research Scientist, Medicine - Med/Hematology
BioI am a MD/PhD postdoctoral fellow and medical oncologist with a long-standing interest in translational cancer research. My long-term goal is to be a lab-based physician-scientist and independent academic researcher, translating basic cancer research, and mentoring next-generation scientists. My thesis work in Japan focused on cancer stem cell equilibrium by uniquely applying organoid culture as a method to elucidate cancer stem cell dynamics, which was awarded in Japanese Cancer Association. Along with the development of the field represented by success in T cell checkpoint, my interest gradually shifted to immune oncology while I examined numerous numbers of cancer patients as a medical oncology fellow. My postdoctoral fellowship at Calvin Kuo Lab in Stanford (2019-present) focuses on tumor immune microenvironment. Kuo lab developed a unique 3D air-liquid interface (ALI) organoid system that cultures tumors while preserving their endogenous infiltrating immune cells (T,B ,NK, Myeloid cells). My postdoctoral work will prove the significance of organoids as a translational tool to discover tumor-immune interaction by novel checkpoint inhibitors for immune cells, which can be broadly applicable to basic cancer biology, precision medicine, therapeutics validation and biomarker discovery.