Education

• 2007-2012: Al-Baath University Faculty of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Syria
• 2013-2017: Tishreen University Graduate School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, M.Sc., Syria
• 2019-2023: Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Ph.D., Nagoya, Japan

Professional Experiences

• 2017-2019: Teaching and Research Associate, Manara University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Syria
• 2023-2025: Project Researcher, Division of Cancer Immunology, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
• 2025-present: Program-specific Assistant Professor, Division of Cancer Immune Multicellular System Regulation, Center for Cancer Immunotherapy and Immunobiology (CCII), Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Research Focus

During my Ph.D. studies I focused on developing novel T cell therapies to treat relapsed leukemia following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), specifically by targeting the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-DBP1 after transplantation from HLA-DPB1 mismatched donors. After completing my Ph.D., I broadened my research interests to address another major complication of HSCT: Secondary Solid Cancers (SSCs). Treating post-transplantation SSCs remains a significant challenge due to the limited understanding of their underlying mechanisms and immunological features, as well as the unique immunological environment following transplantation. The study of post-transplantation SSCs lies at the intersection of transplantation and cancer immunology, offering a unique model to explore the dynamics of immune responses and regulatory mechanisms and to gain new insights into self/non-self-discrimination by T cells.

Licenses & Certificates

• 2012: Pharmacist License, Ministry of Health, Syria
• 2018: Clinical Laboratory Technologist License, Syrian Board for Medical Specialties
• 2025: Certificate of Bioinformatics for Wet-Lab Biologists, University of Glasgow and British Society of Immunology, UK

Honors & Awards

• 2019: The Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship
• 2022: Excellent Presentation Award, The 5th Tokai-Hokuriku HLA Research Group

Memberships

• Japanese Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy
• Japanese Cancer Association
• Japanese Society for Immunology

Selected Publications

• Barakat C, Inagaki Y, Mizuno S, Nishio N, Katsuyama N, Sato Y, Kobayashi M, Ozeki K, Iida H, Tomita A, Sawa M, Demachi-Okamura A, Takahashi Y, Nishikawa H, Akatsuka Y. Development of TCR-T cell therapy targeting mismatched HLA-DPB1 for relapsed leukemia after allogeneic transplantation. Int J Hematol (2023), 118(2), 252-266. doi: 10.1007/s12185-023-03621-y. PMID: 37310580.
• Katsuyama, N., Kawase, T., Barakat, C., Mizuno, S., Tomita, A., Ozeki, K., Nishio, N., Sato, Y., Kajiya, R., Shiraishi, K., Takahashi, Y., Ichinohe, T., Nishikawa, H., & Akatsuka, Y. T cell receptor-engineered T cells derived from target human leukocyte antigen-DPB1-specific T cell can be a potential tool for therapy against leukemia relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Nagoya journal of medical science (2023), 85 (4), 779–796. Doi: 10.18999/nagjms.85.4.779. PMID: 38155626.