The Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
W. Martin Kast, PhD
Education: University of Amsterdam – BS, MS, PhD summa cum laude
Background: W. Martin Kast, PhD is the foundation of the Kast Lab and a Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Obstetrics & Gynecology and Urology at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. He currently holds the Walter A. Richter Cancer Research Chair and is the Director of the Medical Biology Graduate Program, Assistant Dean of Academic Integrity for the Keck School of Medicine, co-director of the Beckman Center for Immune Monitoring, and co-director for the Tumor Microenvironment Program. He is serving on multiple study sections for the NIH and CPRIT. In addition, he is an associate editor for Translational Medicine Communications, Cancers, the Journal of Translational Medicine, International Reviews of Immunology, Frontiers in Genitourinary Oncology, and Papillomavirus Research.
To date he has educated 60 graduate students and postdocs and continues to further the education of the upcoming brilliant minds in science. He was awarded the 2014 USC Mellon Mentoring Award for his outstanding capabilities as a mentor for graduate students. With an H-index of 79 and 272 publications it’s no surprise that he continues to be awarded scientific prizes. He was awarded the 2012 Landsteiner Prize and was previously named 2010’s Eminent Scientist of the Year, and North American Immunologist of the Year for his research. Additionally he holds 18 US Patents, is on the advisory board for 5 biotech companies, and is an Immunology Coordinator for an ongoing clinical trail. Additionally, he was recently given a Silver Beaver Award for his years of service and dedication to the Boy Scouts of America.
Martins talents extend beyond the laboratory, it is not unusual for him to return to the lab with tales from a recent hiking trip with Boyscout Troop 509 for which he is their Scoutmaster or how he has just spent the last day and a half inside a recording studio doing voice-overs for a an autism documentary titled “Sounding the Alarm.” He has also been a medical technical adviser for Greys Anatomy and starred in a 2009 episode of the Discovery Channels My Shocking Story aptly named Treeman Meets Treeman. There are also rumors circulating around that he has starred in a few music videos.
