Jeffrey Ishizuka, MD, DPhil
Assistant ProfessorCards
About
Research
Overview
We are work on novel strategies to manipulate the initiation and effects of inflammation within the tumor microenvironment in order to improve cancer immunotherapy. Areas of focus include the triggering of dsRNA sesning pathways to improve the recruitment and activation of anti-tumor immune cells, identification of novel drug targets for combination immunotherapy and the development of improved approaches to characterizing the tumor-immune microenvironment in patient samples. Our projects build off of our prior work demonstrating that targeting the innate checkpoints in tumors can trigger components of the anti-viral response and overcome resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. To achieve our aims, we utilize a wide variety of in vitro, in vivo and in silico techniques, with core competencies in basic and systems immunology, functional genomics, multimodal tumor microenvironment assessment and in vivo models of immunotherapy efficacy.
Anti-tumor immunity; Tumor environment; Anti-viral immunity
Clinical Care
Overview
Jeffrey Ishizuka, MD, is a medical oncologist who treats patients with melanoma (a type of skin cancer) at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
An active researcher, Dr. Ishizuka also runs a tumor immunology lab where he seeks out new ways to use the immune system to treat cancer and benefit cancer patients.
Dr. Ishizuka earned a DPhil (doctor of philosophy, which is equivalent to a PhD), in immunology studying CD8+ T cells, a type of immune cell that is capable of attacking and killing tumor cells. These cells have been shown to be critical mediators of response to immunotherapies used in melanoma and other diseases.
He completed medical school at Harvard University, internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Ishizuka is an assistant professor of medicine (oncology), pathology and immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC)
Learn More on Yale Medicine
News & Links
News
- August 30, 2024
Yale Research Highlights Unmet Needs for Patients With Melanoma Who Progress or Relapse After Immunotherapy Treatment
- June 12, 2024
Yale Medical Oncology-Hematology Fellowship Graduation 2024
- June 07, 2024
Yale Cancer Center Researchers and Trainees Present at ASCO
- April 15, 2024
Multidisciplinary CMCO Making Strides