Hideho Okada, MD, PhD

Professor
Department of Neurological Surgery
+1 415 476-1637
Research Description: 

Dr. Okada is a creative physician-scientist who has developed therapeutic modalities in the laboratory, translated them into clinical protocols, and used his expertise as both scientist and clinician to assess the clinical data from ongoing trials. Dr. Okada's work has consistently focused on immunotherapeutic strategies aimed at a daunting challenge in oncology – malignant brain tumors. Dr. Okada conducted one of the first immune gene therapy trials in patients with malignant glioma. Dr. Okada's success in navigating the detailed regulatory processes that such trials require demonstrates his attention to detail and breadth of knowledge from basic science to clinical care. Dr. Okada's lab work was the first to identify and fully characterize cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes for gliomas. Dr. Okada's seminal discovery of CTL epitopes in glioma-associated antigens and the work on the mechanisms underlying the adjuvant effects of poly-ICLC enabled him to launch novel glioma vaccine trials in combination with poly-ICLC as an adjuvant. These efforts have also been supported by his mechanistic studies delineating the role of an integrin receptor very late activation antigen (VLA)-4 and chemokine CXCL10 in efficient trafficking of T-cells to brain tumor sites. Dr. Okada has held 4 Investigational New Drug approvals for his own vaccine trials. Since 2004 to 2014, Dr. Okada served as a Co-Leader of the Brain Tumor Program within the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and has worked to expand the program by developing strong interdisciplinary and translational research activities among program members. In 2010, Dr. Okada was selected to be a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, which is an honor society of physician-scientists, those who translate findings in the laboratory to the advancement of clinical practice.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Research Summary: 
Brain Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy

Websites

Publications: 

Absence of Stat1 in donor CD4+ T cells promotes the expansion of Tregs and reduces graft-versus-host disease in mice.

The Journal of clinical investigation

Ma H, Lu C, Ziegler J, Liu A, Sepulveda A, Okada H, Lentzsch S, Mapara MY

Enhancing CAR-T cell metabolism to overcome hypoxic conditions in the brain tumor microenvironment.

JCI insight

Hatae R, Kyewalabye K, Yamamichi A, Chen T, Phyu S, Chuntova P, Nejo T, Levine LS, Spitzer MH, Okada H

A combinatory vaccine with IMA950 plus varlilumab promotes effector memory T-cell differentiation in the peripheral blood of patients with low-grade gliomas.

Neuro-oncology

Saijo A, Ogino H, Butowski NA, Tedesco MR, Gibson D, Watchmaker PB, Okada K, Wang AS, Shai A, Salazar AM, Molinaro AM, Rabbitt JE, Shahin M, Perry A, Clarke JL, Taylor JW, Daras M, Oberheim Bush NA, Hervey-Jumper SL, Phillips JJ, Chang SM, Hilf N, Mayer-Mokler A, Keler T, Berger MS, Okada H

Glioblastoma evolution and heterogeneity from a 3D whole-tumor perspective.

Cell

Mathur R, Wang Q, Schupp PG, Nikolic A, Hilz S, Hong C, Grishanina NR, Kwok D, Stevers NO, Jin Q, Youngblood MW, Stasiak LA, Hou Y, Wang J, Yamaguchi TN, Lafontaine M, Shai A, Smirnov IV, Solomon DA, Chang SM, Hervey-Jumper SL, Berger MS, Lupo JM, Okada H, Phillips JJ, Boutros PC, Gallo M, Oldham MC, Yue F, Costello JF

Glioblastoma vaccines: past, present, and opportunities.

EBioMedicine

Xiong Z, Raphael I, Olin M, Okada H, Li X, Kohanbash G