Project Scientist
Tomoko Hayashi’s research career has been dedicated to the study of host immune responses toward cancer, microbial infectious diseases and the involvement of microbial components in the pathology of autoimmune diseases. She has a broad background in cancer, immunology and microbiology, and formal training as a clinical ophthalmologist. She has expertise and training in innate and adaptive immunology, infectious diseases, and the early phases of drug development, including pre-clinical drug development; working closely with the medicinal chemistry team. Recently, her research has focused on the characterization of Toll-like receptor ligands, its derivatives, and the investigation of clinical applications for these ligands in cancer and immunologic disorders. Her team, including the former Cancer Center Director, Dr. Carson, have worked together to develop drugs for cancer immunotherarapy funded by the Moores Cancer Center Ralph Whitworth Immunotherapy Foundation. They also are involved with work on the NIH contract, “Innate Immune Receptors and Adjuvant Discovery,” and have discovered novel small molecule innate immune activators. The mission of the research team in translational medical research is to identify compounds that will modulate host immune systems and to complete their early drug development processes.