信大医学部医学科研究紹介2019（英語版）

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23Better Future for Today’s Children and for All Generations to ComeSummary of ActivityThe department of pediatrics encompasses 8 areas of subspecialties: Allergy & Immunology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology-Oncolo-gy, Neonatology, Nephrology, and Neurology.Current areas of research in our lab include CAR T-cell therapy, elucidation and treatment of primary immunodeficiency, immunological analysis of neurological diseases, autonomic nervous function and kidney function of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, and evaluation of antibody in dermatomyositis compli-cated with lung disease.・Development and clinical application of cancer immunotherapy with CAR-T cells・ Research on the cause of primary immunodeficiency and development of newiPS cell therapyWe strive to improve medical care for children and all future generations by understanding the mechanisms of disease, developing potential treatments, and gathering evidence from daily clinical practice. Your research discoveries may generate a cure for some disease!Because our department has various areas of subspecialties, graduates can gain a lot of knowledge from the doctors in each division. Graduates also integrate data from multiple sources to identify patient condition, thereby deepening their critical and creative thinking abilities as a physician and a researcher.Research subjectOutlook for researchOutlook for students after graduationPediatrics（Chief: Prof. & Chair : Yozo Nakazawa）Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell Therapy We use our original “non-viral T-cell culture method” for gene engineering. This meth-od is highly and widely appreciated for its simplicity and low cost.Electroporator for gene transfectioniPS cellsBlood cellsHematopoietic lineage differentiationWe assess patient condition by creating iPS cells from patients with immune dis-ease, and inducing those cells to differen-tiate into blood cells.Challenging for next generation of melanoma treatmentSummary of ActivityOur main projects are the diagnostic method, evaluation method of disease status and new treatment method of malignant melanoma. Because progressed melanoma is difficult to cure, early diagnosis and treatment are very important for patients. Sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish the early melanoma from the benign pigmented nevus. We aim to establish the new diagnosis methods using photographs and a noninvasive method using the nail pieces.Today, immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecular target therapy are often used for the patients suffered from progressed melanoma. We research availability of the combination therapy of ICBs and angiotensin II receptor locker (ARB).・Assessment for melanoma patients using liquid biopsy・Treatment of melanoma by combination of ICBs and ARB.・Imaging diagnosis for melanoma using RGB values・Noninvasive diagnosis by measurement melanin in the nails.Since malignant melanoma is one of the aggressive cancers, once it progress, complete re-mission is difficult. Even using immune checkpoint blockade, objective response rate is up to 30%. We hope that outcomes of our study contribute for improvement both of early diagnosis and treatment of advanced melanoma. You can continue the research in our laboratory or study abroad. Because the our research themes are linked to medical treatment, the knowledge obtained in the research is often useful for clinical practice. There are some members in our laboratory who continue both the research and clinical practice after the graduationResearch subjectOutlook for researchOutlook for students after graduationDermatology（Chief: Prof. Ryuhei Okuyama）Graduate students actively experiment. We can use experimental equipments such as We accept international students.We instruct politely.Nevus or Melanoma ? Can you diagnose ?