Norihiro Goto, MD. PhD

          Dr. Norihiro Goto is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, and the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is a physician-scientist with a clinical background in gastroenterology and a research focus on stem cell and cancer biology. Dr. Goto graduated from Kyoto University and completed his residency and fellowship in gastroenterology. He then earned his Ph.D. from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, where he elucidated the distinctions between cancer stem cells and normal stem cells. Dr. Goto conducted his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he identified critical niche cells that support intestinal stem cells and uncovered mechanisms by which early colorectal cancers initiate immune evasion. He is a recipient of the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award.

       The Goto Lab investigates the role of “niche cells”—specialized components of the tissue microenvironment that regulate the behavior of stem cells and tumor cells. To explore the dynamic interactions between niche cells and intestinal stem cells, Dr. Goto has developed a suite of innovative tools, including organoid–niche cell co-culture systems, novel reporter mouse models, and orthotopic organoid transplantation techniques. By integrating these platforms with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and single-cell transcriptomics, the Goto Lab aims to uncover novel mechanisms driving gastrointestinal diseases such as metastatic colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as fundamental biological processes such as stem cell aging.