Soki Kashima

Soki Kashima is a urologic surgeon and physician-scientist holding the rank of Assistant Professor at Akita University School of Medicine and Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine. He completed his MD (2011) and PhD in Medicine (2020) from Akita University, with doctoral research on iPS cell-derived T-cell therapies for renal cell carcinoma under Prof. Hiroshi Kawamoto. At Yale School of Medicine, he serves as a Postdoctoral Associate in the Braun Lab, focusing on immunogenomic approaches to renal cancer immunotherapy.

His research spans tumor microenvironment analysis, preclinical models, and clinical trials evaluating immunotherapies. Key contributions include demonstrating efficacy of T-cell therapies from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in solid tumors and investigating biomarkers for immunotherapy response in renal cell carcinoma. Collaborations with David A. Braun and others have advanced understanding of T-cell phenotypes in checkpoint inhibitor efficacy.

Notable awards include the 2024 ASCO Merit Award and Department of Defense Postdoctoral Fellowship. He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications in journals like Science Immunology, Cancer Medicine, and Urologic Clinics of North America. His work bridges basic science and clinical translation, particularly in optimizing immunotherapy strategies for renal cancers.