Introducing CCMR Principal Investigator Dr. Yale Michaels

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Yale Michaels as Principal Investigator at CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute (CCMR). Dr. Michaels joined CCMR on April 3, 2023 and he is also Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Michaels began his scientific career in Manitoba as a high school research volunteer with Professors Gunnar Valdimarsson, David Eisenstat and Geoff Hicks. He went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University where he conducted research in Professor Jack Szostak’s lab. He undertook a PhD in Medical Science at Oxford University’s Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine under the supervision of Professor Tudor Fulga and Professor Tom Milne. As a PhD student, he established a new technology for precisely controlling gene expression levels in mammalian cells. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. Michaels was a Banting and Michael Smith Health Research BC postdoctoral fellow in Professor Peter Zandstra’s lab at the University of British Columbia’s School of Biomedical Engineering.

Genetically engineered immune cells, such as Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells, are a powerful new class of cancer therapeutics. Despite their impressive clinical track record, the high cost of manufacturing personalized cell therapies has limited more widespread access to this life-saving modality. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Michaels developed a clinically translatable method for differentiating pluripotent stem cells into T cells. The focus of Dr. Michaels’ research program at CCMR will be to leverage this stem cell differentiation platform to understand normal and malignant immune cell development, and to create safe, effective and affordable cell therapies for cancer and immune disease.

We are excited to have Dr. Michaels on our team and we look forward to his contributions at CCMR! Welcome, Dr. Michaels!

View more information about Dr. Michaels:

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Research Gate

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Twitter: @YaleMichaels

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