Research Summary

- Development of gene therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, and immunotherapy strategies for translational application to cancer
- Development of genetic engineering strategies for translational application to transplantation and regenerative medicine.

Research Funding

  • August 1, 2019 - July 31, 2022 - GALV-Based Retroviral Replicating Vectors for Glioma Gene Therapy , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R33NS104454
  • August 1, 2017 - July 31, 2022 - Retroviral Replicating Vector-mediated Gene Therapy for Ovarian Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA213119
  • August 1, 2019 - July 31, 2021 - GALV-Based Retroviral Replicating Vectors for Glioma Gene Therapy , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21NS104454
  • July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014 - Stem cell-based carriers for RCR vector delivery to glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), Sponsor Award ID: TR2-01791
  • June 1, 2010 - May 31, 2014 - Translational Development of Replication-Competent Retrovirus Vectors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01NS059821
  • March 12, 2007 - December 31, 2011 - Cellular Transduction with Replication-Competent Retrovirus Vectors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA121258
  • February 2, 2004 - January 31, 2010 - Combining Virotherapy and Immunotherapy for Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA105171
  • October 1, 2007 - September 30, 2009 - Down-Regulation of Alloreactive Immune Responses to hES Cell-Derived Graft Tissues , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), Sponsor Award ID: RS1-00402-1
  • July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2007 - Cellular Trans. by Retrotransposon-Adenovirus Hybrid Ve. , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA093709
  • March 1, 2000 - February 28, 2004 - TRANSCRIPTIONAL TARGETING OF RETROVIRAL REPLICATION , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA085908
  • September 20, 1999 - July 31, 2002 - ANTI-ANGIOGENIC GENE THERAPY FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03AR046366
  • September 18, 1998 - July 31, 2000 - NOVEL ADENOVIRUS-RETROELEMENT HYBRID VECTORS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21DK054280
  • May 10, 1999 - May 31, 2000 - DEVELOPMENT OF ADENOVIRAL PROTEIN/DNA CONJUGATE VECTORS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R41CA081818

Education

  • Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan, MD, 1986, Medicine
  • University of California, San Francisco, Residency, 1993, Laboratory Medicine
  • University of California, San Francisco, PhD, 1994, Endocrinology

Honors & Awards

  • 1994
    Tokyo Medical and Dental University Alumni Association, Young Investigators Research Award
  • 1995
    University of California San Francisco, Chancellor Julius R Krevans Distinguished Dissertation Award
  • 1996
    Board Certification in Clinical Pathology, American Board of Pathology
  • 1996
    Stop Cancer Foundation, Career Development Award
  • 1998
    Cooley's Anemia Foundation, New Investigator Award
  • 2006
    Clinical Impact Award, Global Life Science Innovation Competition, UCSF/QB3

Selected Publications

  1. Montoya M, Collins SA, Chuntova P, Patel TS, Nejo T, Yamamichi A, Kasahara N, Okada H. Interferon regulatory factor 8-driven reprogramming of the immune microenvironment enhances antitumor adaptive immunity and reduces immunosuppression in murine glioblastoma. Neuro Oncol. 2024 Dec 05; 26(12):2272-2287.  View on PubMed
  2. Niwa H, Nakamura T, Kushiya H, Kuraya T, Inoko K, Inagaki A, Suzuki T, Sasaki K, Tsuchikawa T, Hiraoka K, Shichinohe T, Hatanaka Y, Jolly DJ, Kasahara N, Hirano S. Therapeutic activity of retroviral replicating vector-mediated gene therapy in combination with anti-PD-1 antibody in a murine pancreatic cancer model. Cancer Gene Ther. 2024 Sep; 31(9):1390-1401.  View on PubMed
  3. Montoya M, Collins SA, Chuntova P, Patel TS, Nejo T, Yamamichi A, Kasahara N, Okada H. IRF8-driven reprogramming of the immune microenvironment enhances anti-tumor adaptive immunity and reduces immunosuppression in murine glioblastoma. bioRxiv. 2024 Apr 03.  View on PubMed
  4. Sonoda-Fukuda E, Takeuchi Y, Ogawa N, Noguchi S, Takarada T, Kasahara N, Kubo S. Targeted Suicide Gene Therapy with Retroviral Replicating Vectors for Experimental Canine Cancers. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Feb 24; 25(5).  View on PubMed
  5. Guo Q, Zhang J, Parikh K, Brinkley A, Lin S, Zakarian C, Pernet O, Shimizu S, Khamaikawin W, Hacke K, Kasahara N, An DS. In vivo selection of anti-HIV-1 gene-modified human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells to enhance engraftment and HIV-1 inhibition. Mol Ther. 2024 Feb 07; 32(2):384-394.  View on PubMed
  6. Isoda L, Sonoda-Fukuda E, Fujino H, Takarada T, Hasegawa K, Kasahara N, Kubo S. Therapeutic Efficacy of Prodrug Activator Gene Therapy Using Retroviral Replicating Vectors for Human Ovarian Cancer. Anticancer Res. 2023 Dec; 43(12):5311-5317.  View on PubMed
  7. Fujino H, Sonoda-Fukuda E, Isoda L, Kawabe A, Takarada T, Kasahara N, Kubo S. Retroviral Replicating Vectors Mediated Prodrug Activator Gene Therapy in a Gastric Cancer Model. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Oct 02; 24(19).  View on PubMed
  8. Kushiya H, Hiraoka K, Suzuki T, Inoko K, Inagaki A, Niwa H, Sasaki K, Nakamura T, Tsuchikawa T, Shichinohe T, Jolly DJ, Kasahara N, Hirano S. Retroviral Replicating Vector Toca 511 (Vocimagene Amiretrorepvec) for Prodrug Activator Gene Therapy of Lung Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Nov 25; 14(23).  View on PubMed
  9. Guerra G, Kachuri L, Wendt G, Hansen HM, Mack SJ, Molinaro AM, Rice T, Bracci P, Wiencke JK, Kasahara N, Eckel-Passow JE, Jenkins RB, Wrensch M, Francis SS. The immunogenetics of viral antigen response is associated with subtype-specific glioma risk and survival. Am J Hum Genet. 2022 06 02; 109(6):1105-1116.  View on PubMed
  10. Collins SA, Shah AH, Ostertag D, Kasahara N, Jolly DJ. Clinical development of retroviral replicating vector Toca 511 for gene therapy of cancer. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2021 09; 21(9):1199-1214.  View on PubMed
  11. Chuntova P, Chow F, Watchmaker PB, Galvez M, Heimberger AB, Newell EW, Diaz A, DePinho RA, Li MO, Wherry EJ, Mitchell D, Terabe M, Wainwright DA, Berzofsky JA, Herold-Mende C, Heath JR, Lim M, Margolin KA, Chiocca EA, Kasahara N, Ellingson BM, Brown CE, Chen Y, Fecci PE, Reardon DA, Dunn GP, Liau LM, Costello JF, Wick W, Cloughesy T, Timmer WC, Wen PY, Prins RM, Platten M, Okada H. Unique challenges for glioblastoma immunotherapy-discussions across neuro-oncology and non-neuro-oncology experts in cancer immunology. Meeting Report from the 2019 SNO Immuno-Oncology Think Tank. Neuro Oncol. 2021 03 25; 23(3):356-375.  View on PubMed
  12. Haddad AF, Young JS, Mummaneni NV, Kasahara N, Aghi MK. Immunologic aspects of viral therapy for glioblastoma and implications for interactions with immunotherapies. J Neurooncol. 2021 Mar; 152(1):1-13.  View on PubMed
  13. Montoya ML, Kasahara N, Okada H. Introduction to immunotherapy for brain tumor patients: challenges and future perspectives. Neurooncol Pract. 2020 Oct; 7(5):465-476.  View on PubMed
  14. Chen SH, Sun JM, Chen BM, Lin SC, Chang HF, Collins S, Chang D, Wu SF, Lu YC, Wang W, Chen TC, Kasahara N, Wang HE, Tai CK. Efficient Prodrug Activator Gene Therapy by Retroviral Replicating Vectors Prolongs Survival in an Immune-Competent Intracerebral Glioma Model. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 20; 21(4).  View on PubMed
  15. Rodriguez-Blanco J, Li B, Long J, Shen C, Yang F, Orton D, Collins S, Kasahara N, Ayad NG, McCrea HJ, Roussel MF, Weiss WA, Capobianco AJ, Robbins DJ. A CK1α Activator Penetrates the Brain and Shows Efficacy Against Drug-resistant Metastatic Medulloblastoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2019 02 15; 25(4):1379-1388.  View on PubMed
  16. Kubo S, Takagi-Kimura M, Tagawa M, Kasahara N. Dual-vector prodrug activator gene therapy using retroviral replicating vectors. Cancer Gene Ther. 2019 05; 26(5-6):128-135.  View on PubMed
  17. Cloughesy TF, Landolfi J, Vogelbaum MA, Ostertag D, Elder JB, Bloomfield S, Carter B, Chen CC, Kalkanis SN, Kesari S, Lai A, Lee IY, Liau LM, Mikkelsen T, Nghiemphu P, Piccioni D, Accomando W, Diago OR, Hogan DJ, Gammon D, Kasahara N, Kheoh T, Jolly DJ, Gruber HE, Das A, Walbert T. Durable complete responses in some recurrent high-grade glioma patients treated with Toca 511 + Toca FC. Neuro Oncol. 2018 09 03; 20(10):1383-1392.  View on PubMed
  18. Kubo S, Takagi-Kimura M, Kasahara N. Efficient tumor transduction and antitumor efficacy in experimental human osteosarcoma using retroviral replicating vectors. Cancer Gene Ther. 2019 02; 26(1-2):41-47.  View on PubMed
  19. Inoko K, Hiraoka K, Inagaki A, Takahashi M, Kushibiki T, Hontani K, Takano H, Sato S, Takeuchi S, Nakamura T, Tsuchikawa T, Shichinohe T, Gruber HE, Jolly DJ, Kasahara N, Hirano S. Therapeutic activity of retroviral replicating vector-mediated prodrug activator gene therapy for pancreatic cancer. Cancer Gene Ther. 2018 08; 25(7-8):184-195.  View on PubMed
  20. Yagiz K, Rodriguez-Aguirre ME, Lopez Espinoza F, Montellano TT, Mendoza D, Mitchell LA, Ibanez CE, Kasahara N, Gruber HE, Jolly DJ, Robbins JM. A Retroviral Replicating Vector Encoding Cytosine Deaminase and 5-FC Induces Immune Memory in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Models. Mol Ther Oncolytics. 2018 Mar 30; 8:14-26.  View on PubMed

Go to UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI