Ken Yamada

Ken Yamada, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the UMass Chan Medical School and affiliated with the RNA Therapeutics Institute. He holds a doctorate from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

His research focuses on Molecular Biology, RNA Therapeutics, and Gene Silencing, with a particular emphasis on developing extended nucleic acid backbones and dual-targeting siRNA scaffolds to enhance therapeutic efficacy in neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Huntington's disease. Publications from 2025 to 2005 highlight innovations in RNAi, oligonucleotide formulation, and immune response modulation.

The majority of his work falls within Molecular Biology and Neuroscience, with subfields including RNAi Therapy, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Oligonucleotide Engineering. He collaborates extensively with researchers like Anastasia Khvorova, Neil Aronin, and Matthew Hassler.