Kazuki N. Sugahara, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Surgery. Dr. Sugahara studies drug delivery systems to enhance the diagnosis and therapy of various cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer. He has developed various tumor-targeting peptides that deliver compounds selectively to cancer tissue, and reported them in a number of high-profile journals such as Science. One of his peptides, the iRGD tumor-penetrating peptide, is now in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial for metastatic pancreatic cancer. Dr. Sugahara's work has been recognized through grants and awards from national agencies such as the NIH, Department of Defense, and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and also from international societies such as the Japan Society of Drug Delivery Systems.

After receiving his medical degree from Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan, Dr. Sugahara underwent surgery residency at Tazuke Kofukai Kitano Hospital, Osaka, Japan, received a PhD in cancer biology and immunology from the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California. He came to Columbia University in 2013 to take dual appointment as a categorical resident and a research faculty at the Department of Surgery. He now continues to pursue his career as a surgeon scientist with a special focus on pancreatic cancer.