Kazuhiro Ito

Kazuhiro Ito, PhD, DVM, is a Principal Research Fellow in Respiratory Molecular Pharmacology at the National Heart & Lung Institute (NHLI) within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London. His career bridges academia and industry, with expertise in respiratory inflammation, infection, and aging. He co-founded RespiVert Ltd., Pulmocide Ltd., and SubIntro Ltd., focusing on inhaled therapies for respiratory diseases.

Education:

• PhD, Hokkaido University (1995)
• Master of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University (1987–1989)

Research Interests:

• Respiratory infections (bacteria, fungi, viruses)
• Cellular senescence and aging in COPD
• Inhaled drug development for antimicrobial resistance
• Epigenetic and signaling pathways in asthma/COPD

His work combines translational pharmacology with clinical biomarker studies, emphasizing novel therapies for corticosteroid-resistant inflammation.

Advancing Science:

• Secured £5.8M+ in Wellcome Trust/MRC grants
• Supervised 13 PhD students and 35+ international researchers
• Co-developed inhaled kinase inhibitors licensed to Janssen

Labs & Networks:

• Imperial College spin-off companies
• Member of Genomic and Environmental Medicine Section
• Affiliated with Fungal Science Network, Microbiome Network