Bio
Dr Thakor is adult and pediatric-certified Interventional Radiologist, and Physician-Scientist, who practices at Stanford University.
Dr Thakor directs the translational Center of Interventional Radiology Innovation at Stanford (IRIS) and runs an NIH-funded laboratory called: the Laboratory for Advancements in Precision Delivery (LAPD). His research team develops novel approaches in the field of Interventional Regenerative Medicine, specifically investigating how to optimally deliver mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and their extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs), to injured tissues given their ability to restore cellular health and function. To prime these therapies, as well as modulate the tissue microenvironment, his team has been developing and optimizing a novel technology called pulsed focused ultrasound (pFUS), with high resolution genomic and proteomic profiling data showing that soundwaves can change the phenotype of both cell therapies and tissues.
In the clinical setting, Dr Thakor leads targeted delivery efforts using image-guided endovascular (i.e. within blood vessels), percutaneous (i.e. through the skin), endoluminal (i.e. within the bowel, respiratory or urinary system), and device implantation (i.e. bioscaffolds, stents) procedures. By ensuring therapies can reach target cells, this overcomes any potential side effects, and risks, associated with systemic delivery, which includes: first-pass drug metabolism, off-target side effects, lung entrapment of cellular therapies and liver/spleen entrapment of nano or micro scale cell-free and gene-vector therapies. He also performs islet transplantation and has been instrumental in the establishment of both the adult and pediatric programs at Stanford.
As a physician-scientist, Dr Thakor also makes sure that these innovations (i.e. technologies, therapies and devices) are effectively translated from the benchtop to the beside and to that effect, he is a PI and Co-I on several clinical trials.
CLINICAL FOCUS:
Interventional Radiology - Pediatric and Adult
Islet Transplantation
Interventional Oncology
Medical Devices
Cellular and Gene therapies
Ablative technologies
Precision Delivery (Locoregional / Targeted Delivery)
ACADEMIC FOCUS:
Precision Delivery
Focused Ultrasound
Mesenchymal stem cells and their derived extracellular vesicles
Bioscaffolds
Microenvironment Modulation
SUBJECT FOCUS:
Pancreas Regeneration and Islet Transplantation
Kidney Regeneration
Brain Regeneration
Liver Regeneration
Skin Regeneration
Solid Organ Tumors
https://www.stanfordiris.com/
https://www.stanfordprecisiondelivery.com/
