Miho Naruse

Postdoctoral Fellow

Miho has always been fascinated by the fundamental science behind everyday phenomena, which led her to pursue a degree in chemistry. She earned her bachelor’s degree from International Christian University in Tokyo, where her thesis focused on developing a probe fabrication method for scanning tunneling microscope.

Initially drawn to physical chemistry, her own medical diagnosis drastically shifted her interests toward biomedical research. In 2018, she joined Professor Kazunori Koide’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh, where she investigated the use of transition metal-catalyzed bioorthogonal reactions in cancer research. This experience allowed her to explore drug resistance mechanisms in cancer, particularly those involving lysosomes.

At the Aird lab, she is currently investigating the role of p16 in regulating lysosomal function and its implications in cancer in addition to exploring the metabolic switch between senescence and quiescence.

Outside the lab, she enjoys working out, watching comedies and birds. Recently, she saw a robin slurping a long worm like a noodle!