Kosuke Funato, PhD
Assistant Professor at The University of Georgia
2018 NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow Alumnus
PhD, University of Tokyo, Japan
Bio
Dr. Funato is using stem cells to understand the link between mutations in histones, the proteins that package DNA, and glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. By modeling glioblastoma tumors with stem cells, he is studying how these tumors originate, how normal cells are transformed to cancerous ones through histone mutations, and if there is a possible link between brain development and tumor formation. With this model, he also aims to expand to large-scale screenings of anti-cancer drugs and novel therapeutic options for patients suffering from this devastating disease.