Janko Ž. Nikolich, MD, PhD
Dr. Nikolich is internationally recognized as a leading immunologist and gerontologist. He received his M.D., MSc and Ph.D. in Immunology from Belgrade University. 1987-1990, Research Associate, Scripps Research Institute, laboratory of Dr. M.J. Bevan, FRS, NAS, HHMI. 1990-2001; Assistant and Associate Member/Professor, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY and Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. 2001-2008, Professor and Senior Scientist, OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute; 2008-2025, Bowman Professor and Head, Department of Immunobiology and Co-Director, Arizona Center on Aging, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson. Chair of the Board and CEO, American Aging Association (2014-2020), Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (2015) and of the American Aging Association (2016). Member, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2024), Regents Professor, Arizona Board of Regents, (2025) 2025-present, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Partnerships, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.
Cancer Focus
My laboratory studies decline in immunity against microbial pathogens during aging, and the potential for immune rejuvenation in the old age. Inasmuch as cancer is dominantly a disease of old age, and inasmuch as longevity is determined in part by resistance to cancer, we are also interested in immune modulation during aging and longevity extension treatments as they apply to cancer. I have had a long interest in T cell effector function and peptide-MHC recognition by T cells in antimicrobial immunity and cancer, having published several studies on experimental cancer therapies. More recently, we have been interested in anti-cancer immunity in older humans and mice, specifically in the interplay of aging microenvironments in the lymph node and older T cells on effector antitumor immunity.