University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · PharmacologyMoon Lab
James J. Moon · Ann Arbor, Michigan
Research Focus
Dr. James J. Moon's lab focuses on developing innovative treatments for aggressive cancers, particularly head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The lab explores the use of engineered nanoparticles to activate the STING immune pathway, aiming to improve patient responses to immunotherapy. They are also investigating how to modulate the gut microbiome to enhance cancer treatments, creating formulations that can be administered orally to boost immune responses safely.
STING activationnano-formulationsgut microbiomeimmune activationhead and neck cancerimmunotherapyoral deliverycancer therapy
Research Aims
5AIM 01Develop next-generation STING agonist nanoparticles for cancer therapy.
AIM 02Evaluate the efficacy of STING agonists in animal models.
AIM 03Create oral formulations to modulate the gut microbiome.
AIM 04Investigate the relationship between gut microbiome and immune response.
AIM 05Translate research findings into safe therapeutic strategies.
Skills the Lab Values
nanoparticle synthesisimmunological assaysanimal modelingformulation chemistryPCRcell cultureflow cytometrymicrobiome analysisWestern blottingin vivo experimentation
Output against the department
Publications1,332top 1% of dept.6th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations74ktop 2% of dept.10th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.