Keiichiro Kushiro | Director of Research
Mucommune

I. My Story in a Nutshell
Since my birth, I have lived around the globe (Tanzania, Singapore, Thailand, Chile, USA, etc.), got my higher educational degrees in USA, and later joined the University of Tokyo as faculty in the Department of Bioengineering. My past achievements include my original research projects on controlling cellular behaviors such as cancer metastasis through geometrical features of microstructured biomaterials that resulted in publications in prominent scientific journals. I have also extensively worked on various areas of bioengineering including microstructured biodevices to isolate and analyze cancer cells, fluorescence/radiation probes for bioimaging and drug delivery to tumors, and creation of polymer-coated artificial lungs. I recently made a transition from academia to industry, and now serve as the Senior Director of Research in a US biotech startup called Mucommune in North Carolina, where I spearhead many projects related to implantable biodevices to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and bacterial infections, and non-hormonal contraception.

II. Education
California Institute of Technology     (2004~2010)
Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

III. Professional Experience
- Senior Director of Research (2021~), Director of Research (2020~2021) @ Mucommune, LLC.
- Project Lecturer/Associate Professor (2019~2020) @Dept Bioengineering, University of Tokyo

IV. Selected Publications
1. Afzali Z, Matsushita T, Kogure A, Masuda T, Azuma T, Kushiro K, Kasama T, Miyake R, Takai M. (2022). ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 14:2605-2617.
2. Zhao T, Asawa K, Masuda T, Honda A, Kushiro K, Cabral H, Takai M. (2021). Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 601:825-832.
3. Yaginuma T, Kushiro K, Takai M. (2020). Scientific Reports. 10:6110.
4. Olofsson K, Kushiro K, Takai M, M Wiklund, et al. (2018). Lab on a Chip. 18:2466-2476.
5. Kushiro K, Yaginuma T, Ryo A, Takai M (2017). Scientific Reports. 7:4244.
6. Kamata H, Kushiro K, Takai M, Chung U, Sakai T (2016). Angewandte Chemie International Edition (Communication). 55(32): 9282-9286.
7. Kushiro K, Lee C-H, Takai M (2016). Biomaterials Science. 4(6):989-997.
8. Kushiro K, Sakai T, Takai M (2015). Langmuir. 31(37):10215-10222.
9. Cho J, Kushiro K, Teramura Y, Takai M (2014). Biomacromolecules. 15(6): 2012-2018.
10. Kushiro K, Asthagiri AR (2012). Langmuir. 28(9):4357-4362.
11. Kushiro K, Chang S, Asthagiri AR (2010). Advanced Materials. 22: 4516-4519.