Dr. Stephen Quake's interests lie at the nexus of physics, biology, and biotechnology. His research is concerned with developing new approaches to biological measurement and applying these approaches to problems of both fundamental and medical interest. Areas of interest include genomic diagnostics, systems biology, microbial ecology, and single cell genomics.
This work published in Cell Reports features data supporting that "the transcriptional age of brain endothelial cells is exquisitely sensitive to age-related circulatory cues and pinpoint the blood brain barrier itself as a promising therapeutic target to treat brain disease."
A recent study published in Nature from the Quake lab, collaborators, and professor of pediatrics medicine Crystal Mackall was mentioned in Stanford Medicine News. The study involves targeting human cancer cells grown in the lab and in mice using a new method of programming CAR-T cells (immune cells that fight cancer) increasing their capability and lengthening their activeness against cancer cells. The article in Stanford Medicine News states that "The ability to circumvent the exhaustion that the genetically engineered cells often experience after their initial burst of activity could lead to the development of a new generation of CAR-T cells that may be effective even against solid cancers — a goal that has until now eluded researchers." Clinical trials in people are expected to start within in the next 18 months.