NK Cellular Therapeutics Labs

Dr. Jeff Miller's extraordinary success as a scientist and mentor has led to the creation of a consortium of laboratories, each run by an independent investigator, and each focused on some aspect of the very promising use of Natural Killer (NK) cells in the treatment of cancers and other chronic diseases. Our laboratory scientists do highly collaborative work in an effort to develop new and better immunologic therapies for blood-based and solid tumor malignancies.

Professor Jeff Miller, MD

Lab established 1993

Main research focus: Using transplantation of Natural Killer Cells to treat cancers

Associate Professor 

Frank Cichocki, PhD


Lab established 2014


Main research focus: NK cell biology and hematopoietic cell transplantation

Associate Professor

Martin Felices, PhD

Lab established 2014

Main research focus: Cytokine signaling and development of NK-specific biologics

Assitant Professor 

Aimee Merino, MD, PhD

Lab established 2020

Main research focus: NK cells for use against myeloma

Assistant Professor
Akhilesh Kumar, PhD

Lab established 2022

Main research focus: Understanding hematopoietic development using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to develop novel-cell-based therapeutics

Assistant Professor 

Nick Zorko, MD, PhD

Lab established 2022

Main research focus: NK cells treating solid tumors

Assistant Professor
Pippa Kennedy, PhD

Lab established 2020

Main research focus: NK cell biology in organs and tumors

Assistant Professor 

Zach Davis, PhD

Lab established 2022

Main research focus: Mechanisms of NK cell target recognition