Dr. Taku Kambayashi, MD/PhD

Principal Investigator, Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Growing up, I have always wanted to work in the field of medicine and to take care of people with disease. After being mesmerized by research experiences during my training, I dreamed of helping patients not only through direct care but also through my research.

Now, I am doing exactly that; I am a physician scientist and wear two hats: one as a medical doctor and another as a scientist. I believe that my role as a physician scientist is to bridge basic science and clinical medicine. In essence, physician scientists help to transition “bench to bedside”. Accordingly, a life-long goal of mine has been to help patients through the translation of basic science discovery into therapeutics or diagnostics in a clinically meaningful manner. As such, the research interests of my lab have been focused on intracellular signaling pathways that could be therapeutically targeted to alter the function and development of immune cells, which could potentially provide benefit to disease outcome.

Most importantly, I believe it is important to have fun and to be excited at what we do. We try out a lot of things in the lab, always keeping an open mind and allowing the data to lead the path. Sure, we all work hard in the Kambayashi lab, but I strive to promote a lab environment that is collaborative, stimulating, and fun for everyone.

Meet the Lab

  • Jordan Harris, Ph.D

    MD/PhD Student (IGG, CDY5)

  • Dorottya Laczko, MD, Ph.D

    Pathology Resident

  • Mariko Okumura

    Lab Manager

  • Yuichi Yokoyama, MD, Ph.D

    Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Bruktawit Goshu (Bruk)

    Ph.D student (IGG)

  • Simon Zhou

    Ph.D student (IGG)

  • Wei Du, MD, Ph.D

    Pathology Resident

  • Lillian Sun (Lily)

    MD/Ph.D Student (IGG, CDY5)

  • Esha Velaga

    Undergrad student (Planned Major: Molecular & Cellular Biology)

  • MinJu Kim

    Undergrad student (Major: Biochemistry), Future plan: WashU Immunology Ph.D Program

  • Tetsuya Ikawa MD, Ph.D

    Postdoctoral Researcherl

Lab Alumni

Postdoctoral Researchers

 

Norifumi Sawamukai, MD, Ph.D

Postdoc: 2010-2012
Director, Sapporo Rheumatology Clinic

 

Mobin Karimi, MD, Ph.D

Postdoc: 2012-2017
Assistant Professor, NY Upstate Medical University

Atsushi Satake, MD Ph.D

Postdoc: 2012-2015
Associate Professor, Kansai Medical University

 

Yukinori Tanaka, DDS, Ph.D

Postdoc: 2016-2020
Assistant Professor, Tohoku University

Wen Lu, MD

Postdoc: 2015-2016
Attending Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital

 

Shohei Harabuchi, MD, Ph.D

Visiting Assistant Professor: 2020-2022 Associate Professor, Asahikawa University

Sanoe Harrison, MD

Postdoc: 2016-2017
Physician, SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium

 

Paulina Tran, MD

Allergy/Immunology Clinical Fellow: 2021-22

Physician

Thesis Students

 

Tao Zou, MD, Ph.D

Graduated 2011
Instructor, Dana Farber Cancer Institute

 

EnJun Yang, Ph.D

Graduated 2016
Senior Research Fellow, IMCB

 

Ruth-Anne Langan-Pai, Ph.D

Graduated 2020
Director of Research Strategy, PSC Partners

Rebecca May, MD, Ph.D

Graduated 2012
Pathologist, Arkana Labs

 

Jacquelyn Freund (Brown), Ph.D

Graduated 2017
Manager, Medical Affairs, Provention Bio

 

Ruth Choa, MD, Ph.D

Graduated 2020
Medical Resident, MGH

Amanda Schmidt-Paustian, Ph.D

Graduated 2014
Senior Scientist, AbbVie

 

Leilani Chirino, MD, Ph.D

Graduated 2019
Psychiatry Resident, HUP

 

Theresa Leichner, Ph.D

Graduated 2016
Group Scientific Director, PRECISONscientia

 

Brenal Singh, Ph.D

Graduated 2019
Scientist, ArsenalBio