I am Chiao-Hsu (Josh) Ke, an assistant professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at National Taiwan University. I am interested in the complex interplay between tumor cells and their microenvironment, particularly how these interactions drive malignancy and immune evasion in animals. Among the physiological barriers to treatment, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) is one of the most critical challenges in veterinary oncology, limiting the efficacy of conventional therapies. A better understanding of how the host immune system interacts with cancer cells is a critical step in developing precision medicine and is especially important in elucidating why certain aggressive cancers, such as melanoma and osteosarcoma, develop resistance to treatment.

My research investigates how tumor-intrinsic factors and the host immune landscape influence the outcomes of cancer progression and therapy. I use a combination of molecular immunology, pharmacology, bioinformatics, and clinical validation approaches to study factors that regulate tumor immunity. My research has led to the discovery that tumors can actively reprogram gene expression profiles to create a favorable microenvironment that facilitates malignancy. A fascinating finding is the ability of xenograft-derived vaccines to increase tumor antigen diversity, thereby enhancing the host's T-cell efficiency against cancers. These results suggest the general importance of antigen landscape diversity in the evolution of effective anti-tumor immune responses.

In addition to therapeutic mechanisms, our recent work reveals that systemic physiological changes are important drivers of cancer diagnosis and prognosis. We discovered that specific biomarkers in the blood are tightly connected to tumor burden and stage. The association that elevated levels of these markers correlate with poor prognosis provides a new avenue for liquid biopsy in veterinary medicine. This line of inquiry supports the hypothesis that systemic inflammation and coagulation abnormalities are not just side effects but integral components of cancer pathology. We believe these novel biomarkers will serve as important tools that explain the clinical heterogeneity of canine cancer patients and as the foundation for future studies investigating early detection strategies.

This is the Cancer Immunology and Pharmacology Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine of National Taiwan University. We are interested in understanding how cancer cells and the host immune system interact with each other and how these interactions influence the efficacy of drugs and immunotherapies. In addition to biological mechanisms, it is increasingly recognized that computational approaches are important drivers of modern drug discovery. We, therefore, aim to understand how artificial intelligence can influence veterinary oncology. More specifically, how AI-driven predictions and immune modulation—two of the most promising frontiers in medicine—affect the future of cancer treatment in animals.

Spontaneous tumors in companion animals and human cancers share many biological similarities and have intrigued comparative oncologists for a long time. The study of canine cancer has played a fundamental role in advancing our knowledge in many biomedical disciplines, including immunology, pharmacology, and translational medicine. Due to the roles that companion animals play in our families and their value as spontaneous disease models, the study of veterinary oncology has great scientific and applied values for the One Health initiative. Additionally, the rising incidence of cancer in aging companion animals has significantly influenced veterinary care requirements and owner expectations. Therefore, it has become increasingly important for us to understand how these advanced immuno-pharmacological interactions can be harnessed to improve survival and quality of life.