Here are just a few of the incredible people at the Knight Cancer Institute working to transform cancer science, early detection and the future of patient care. Read the full story.
Joshua Moreau, Ph.D.
Joined OHSU from University of California, San Francisco
Assistant professor at CEDAR, the Division of Oncological Sciences, Department of Dermatology, and Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology
As an immunologist, Moreau focuses on understanding adaptive immune function, particularly in peripheral tissues like the skin. This translates to studying skin cancers like melanoma.
Moreau’s lab has found promising research on a type of immune cell, the memory B cell, that could act as a therapeutic target for cancer. B cells move to inflamed areas in the body and help fight off infections upon arrival. Some of these B cells become memory cells, staying in the body and helping protect against future illnesses; these memory B cells can also be harnessed to fight cancer more effectively.
In 2024, Moreau received a Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award for his research on the disease.
“I don’t think it’s possible to end cancer in any context without understanding how to leverage the immune system and immune function. Our work, at a very basic and fundamental level, provides knowledge about how the immune system functions in the context of cancer and tumors.”
