Meet the Team
Bio
I am Joy, pursuing my research as a postdoc mentored by Prof. Hiro Nakauchi. I completed my undergraduate in Genetic engineering from India, followed by MS and Ph.D. from Sweden. In my Ph.D., I focused on the molecular aspect of cancer biology to perturb genetic and epigenetic targets for translational research under the mentorship of Prof. Jonas Nilsson. Understanding cancer at the molecular level can help devise ways to prevent pluripotent stem cells from acquiring malignant traits, thus making them safer for the clinic. My long-term goal is to generate transplantation-ready whole human organs in research animals. To head towards our long-term goal, I am:
- Defining conditions for capturing a "true state" of mammalian pluripotency: We discovered a single condition capable of maintaining pluripotency across species.
- Identifying, defining, and overcoming developmental xeno- barrier: Using knowledge-based and unbiased genome-wide approaches, we aim to identify, define and finally overcome xeno-barriers.
- Overcoming these barriers should enable a higher contribution from the injected xenogeneic donor cells for generating whole organs in research animals. Developing a damage-free ex vivo organ preservation method – Using nature-inspired processes, we aim to develop novel organ preservation solutions for improving transplantation outcomes.
Bio
Kouta Niizuma is a Postdoctoral fellow in the Prof. Hiromitsu Nakauchi’s laboratory at Stanford. He completed his undergraduate in Biology and obtained PhD in Immunology at University of Tsukuba, Japan. In the course of his PhD study, he focused on cell surface receptors expressed on immune cells in Prof. Akira Shibuya’s laboratory. He identified and characterized a novel immunoglobulin-like receptor, CD300H expressed on myeloid cells, by using a monoclonal antibody he generated. Also during his PhD, Kouta studied at Prof. Lewis L Lanier’s laboratory at UCSF as a visiting scholar and focused on the response of Natural Killer cells to infection with cytomegalovirus. Since He joined in the Nakauchi lab in May 2018, he has been focusing on developing new immunotherapies and hematopoietic stem cell biology.
Bio
Masashi Miyauchi is a physician-scientist and has expertise in the field of hematology and oncology. He obtained a M.D. in Kyoto University and started his residency and clinical fellowship followed by Ph.D. program in Department of Hematology and Oncology, the University of Tokyo Hospital. Though his Ph.D. training in the University of Tokyo, he established cancer stem cells model for drug discovery, which was based on patient-specific iPSCs, and finished pan-cancer professional training. After obtaining his Ph.D., he has been involved in clinical practices for hematological diseases and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a board-certified hematologist. He has also contributed to a trial for clinical sequencing-panel against pan-cancer and Professional Training Plan in Cancer Medicine as a cancer-profession. Besides, he underwent translational research in the field of regenerative medicine. Since July 2019, he joined in Nakauchi Lab and is especially involved in hematopoietic stem cell projects.
Growing up in Australia exposed me to a wide variety of wildlife. I knew from early on that I wanted to pursue a career in Biology. Moving to the United States at the end of High School, I attended Humboldt State for my Undergraduate Degree, where I studied the role of paternal effect genes in C. elegans development. At the end of my undergraduate career I was fortunate to have the opportunity to come to Stanford as part of the CIRM bridges program, where I worked on developing genome editing in hematopoietic stem cells for the treatment of genetic diseases in the lab of Dr. Matthew Porteus. After two years in the Porteus lab, I joined Stanford’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine PhD program, which I hope will serve as a platform in my attempts to become sole ruler of planet earth.
I was born and raised in the sunny island of Singapore. I graduated from The University of Edinburgh, UK with a BSc (1stClass Hons) in Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology. I completed my undergraduate thesis in Professor Ian Chambers lab where I studied the DNA-binding residues function of NANOG, the critical pluripotency factor, in the embryonic stem cell cytokine independent self-renewal. Outside the lab, I can be found haunting for Asian food cuisine around the Bay Area. I also enjoy hiking and biking to explore the sunny outdoors in California!
Current Projects:
Applications of Highly multiplexed Technologies to study Hematopoietic Stem Cells at single-cell resolution; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Metabolomics
Bio
My name is Alyssa, and I’m a CIRM internship master’s student assisting Dr. Kouta Niizuma on his projects involving CAR-macrophage and antibody generation. I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2020 with a major in Molecular and Cell Biology, and worked as a research associate in biotech for two years focusing on mesenchymal stem cells for cardiac ischemia therapy. I am now completing my master’s degree at SF State, and hope to continue conducting research at the intersection of stem cell biology and immunotherapy!
In my free time, I like to play video games, go to concerts, and sleep with my cat, Yuki.
Bio
I am Valeria Aviles, a research intern at the Nakauchi Lab, joining through the CIRM Bridges 3.0 Internship Program. I graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt with a B.S. in Biochemistry. I am passionate about stem cell research and hope to pursue a Ph.D. in the field.
Bio
I am an undergraduate student majoring in biology with a computational track. I am a Major Grant Award recipient for my research on the developmental pathways of gallbladder development in rats. My goal is to attend medical school and become a physician who makes meaningful strides in medical research while supporting patients in their healing.
Bio
Shota Homma is a Life Science Research Professional in the Nakauchi Lab at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he contributes to the development of Secreted Particle Information Transfer (SPIT), a novel platform for in vivo genetic engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Carsten Charlesworth. He also leads bench work on the lab’s viral-like particle (VLP) project, addressing low editing efficiency in VLP-Cas9 systems and improving gene-editing delivery to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). As lab manager, Shota oversees daily operations, including equipment maintenance, biosafety compliance (APB, APLAC, SCRO, IRB), inventory, training, and inspections, and he works closely with the lab’s financial analyst to track budgets and reconcile expenses. As the bilingual administrative secretary for Dr. Hiromitsu Nakauchi, Shota facilitates the lab’s scientific and academic initiatives. He manages Dr. Nakauchi’s schedule, oversees internal and external communications in both Japanese ad English, and supports coordination of multi-institutional collaborations. He assists with manuscript submissions and travel logistics, and often serves as a bridge between Stanford and international research partners, particularly those in Japan.
Shota holds a Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University and dual undergraduate degrees from UCLA. Outside the lab, he is a classical pianist with over 20 years of training and performance experience. He has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Royce Hall and has has received recognition in several statewide, national and international competitions including first places at the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC) Piano Solo Competition Division III State Finals; the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Piano Solo Competition Division III California State Division; the Pacific Musical Society Piano Competition; second places in the MTNA Southwest Division National Competition as the representative of California, the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition, and the Rio Hondo Symphony Young Artists Competition.
