Dr. Mihoko Kai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences. She also holds appointments with the Oncology Department and the Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center. Prior to her appointments at Johns Hopkins University in 2008, she completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and held appointments as an Instructor and a Senior Research Associate at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The main focus of Dr. Kai’s laboratory is to understand how genome stability is maintained in cells. Improper coordination and control of the cell cycle checkpoint and DNA repair pathways will lead to genome instability, a hallmark of cancer-prone syndromes. Her laboratory is presently investigating several aspects of this relationship, employing a two-pronged research strategy that involves both yeast and human cells. The other focus of her laboratory is to identify DNA damage response control pathways in cancer stem cells, focusing on radiation responses in human and mouse glioblastoma stem cells. Discovery of new links between cancer stem cell regulation and DNA damage response pathways will open up new possibilities to improve outcomes of radiation therapy and reduce or prevent relapse in malignant diseases.