A CANCER RESEARCHER IN THE MAKING

Kai is DOING SOMETHING in memory of Lucas

When Kai Harashima was nine years old, he asked a question that would stay with him for years: Why can the immune system fight infections, but not cancer?

That question emerged after his younger brother Lucas was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). Like many families touched by pediatric brain cancer, Kai was left searching for answers.

Years later, that curiosity brought Kai to the Children’s Brain Tumor Project at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he joined the lab as a student researcher. Inspired by the work presented by Dr. Nadia Dahmane, Kai spent his winter break immersed in the CBTP laboratory—working alongside college and medical students to better understand how brain tumors evade immune detection.

Through hands-on laboratory experience, Kai explored the biological strategies tumors use to escape the body’s natural defenses. That work ultimately became the foundation of his senior thesis, “Strategy, Subterfuge, and Deception: How Cancer Cells Hide from the Body’s Natural Defenses,” earning him his school’s Junior Thesis Award in STEM.

Today, Kai is enjoying his freshman year at Cornell University (a prefect fit!). If his studies become challenging, he can reflect on his accomplishments at the Children’s Brain Tumor Project for inspiration.

By fostering curiosity and providing excellent mentorship, our team helps train the next generation of scientists and clinicians who will push the field forward—and bring us closer to better outcomes for children with rare and deadly brain tumors, including DIPG.

READ MORE ABOUT KAI’S EXPERIENCE IN THE SEPT/OCT 2024 ISSUE OF WESTCHESTER CONNECT MAGAZINE