Identify actionable targets for the development of novel immunotherapies and cancer vaccines for developing safe and potent treatments for cancer.
The Gemechu Laboratory focuses on developing novel therapeutics for cancer, including cancer vaccines and immune-modulating small molecules. Of particular interest is an immunomodulatory drug that has both anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumoral immune induction potential, which can be combined with immunotherapies for improving preclinical and clinical outcomes. Our lab is also interested in identifying the downstream target/s of immune‐mediated inflammatory processes for developing a safe and potent tumor microenvironment modifier.
- Developing self-assembling cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs to be used in combination for cervical, ovarian and prostate cancer.
- Development of transdermally delivered self-assembling therapeutic vaccine for solid tumors and infectious diseases. Our collaborative work with Natalie Artzi’s lab is positioned to develop a bandaid patch-like vaccine delivery to ease intra-dermal vaccine delivery and increase vaccine efficacy, ease of administration and uptake and global deployment.
- Immunomodulatory drug downstream target identification: interrogating the tumor mass with high parameter techniques and identify targets for the application of selective immunomodifiers.
Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. U.S.A. (2018)115(46): 1180211807.
Gemechu Y, Millrine D, Hashimoto S, Prakash J, Sanchenkova K, Metwally H, Gyanu P, Kang S, and Kishimoto T.
J Immunol 2020;204 (1 Suppl) 163.7 Gemechu Y and Kishimoto T. A novel Cullin 4A/BCereblon E3
Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. U.S.A. (2016)113(38):10625-30. Millrine D, Tei M, Gemechu Y, Kishimoto T.
Int Immunol. (2016) 28(6):307-15. Millrine D, Miyata H, Tei M, Dubey P, Nyati K, Nakahama T, Gemechu Y, Ripley B, Kishimoto T.
Cancer Letters (2021) 520: 295-306. Nyati K, Hashimoto S, Singh SK, Tekguc M, Metwally H, Liu Y, Okuzaki D, Gemechu Y, Sujin Kang, Kishimoto T.
Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci. U.S.A. (2019) 116(30):15128-33. Chalise J.P., Hashimoto SH, Parajuli G, Kang S, Singh Sh, Gemechu Y, Metwally H, Nyati K.K., Dubey P.K., Zaman M.M., Nagahama Y, H Hamza, Masuda K, and Kishimoto T.
Sci. Signal. (2020)13:624, eaay0574.Metwally H, Tanaka T, Li S, Parajuli G, Kang S, Hanieh H, Hashimoto Sh , Chalise JP, Gemechu Y, Standley DM, and Kishimoto T.
Tayhlor Tanner, PhD candidate, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
James Adeosun, MD candidate, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, United Kingdom Summer Research Intern
Abigail Colley, PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge United Kingdom, Summer Research Intern