Hirofumi Kiyokawa, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Hirofumi Kiyokawa, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care Medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. He is a physician-scientist specializing in airway stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. His research focuses on understanding how airway epithelial stem cells fail in disease and on developing stem cell-based therapies to restore lung function. Trained in both clinical pulmonary medicine and basic science, his work integrates developmental biology, single-cell genomics, and stem cell engineering to address chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.

Dr. Kiyokawa received his MD and PhD in respiratory medicine from Kyoto University, followed by clinical training in internal and pulmonary medicine in Japan. He then pursued postdoctoral research at RIKEN, where he studied mechanisms regulating airway basal stem cell proliferation during development and regeneration. His work demonstrated that airway basal stem cells reutilize embryonic programs, including the Tgfβ-Id2 axis, to control proliferation and tissue repair (Developmental Cell, 2021).

Since joining Dr. Darrell N. Kotton’s laboratory at Boston University, Dr. Kiyokawa has focused on regenerative approaches using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). He has developed expertise in generating iPSC-derived airway basal cells (iBCs) and contributed to establishing a novel intra-airway transplantation platform that enables functional reconstitution of the airway stem cell compartment (Cell Stem Cell, 2023).

His current research aims to define the molecular basis of airway stem cell aging and to test whether youthful stem cell states can be harnessed to restore tissue function in aged or diseased lungs. By combining single-cell transcriptomics, epigenomics, and in vivo transplantation, his work seeks to establish cell replacement therapy as a transformative strategy for chronic lung diseases.

Publications

  • Published 5/25/2026

    Fujimoto K, Kogo M, Kobayashi H, Ogura M, Ozaki T, Kiyokawa H, Natori D, Okamori H, Nishi K, Yamanaka H, Iwashima D, Takahashi K. Tolerability and effectiveness of definitive chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced lung cancer patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. Cancer Treat Res Commun. 2026 May 25; 48:101262. PMID: 42225006.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/1/2025

    Sakai T, Kawakita M, Seki A, Takaoka K, Kurata M, Torikai J, Atsumi S, Yawata K, Noi K, Fukutani Y, Noguchi K, Kiyokawa H, Morimoto M, Takeuchi E, Minegishi K, Aoki Y, Fujimura S, Nishizaka T, Inoue T, Nagaoka K, Tsugawa H, Hayashi H, Ishiguro H, Kozono T, Ohsawa I, Fujita Y, Matsunami H, Hamada H, Shinohara K. Tppp3 determines basal body positioning and identity of respiratory cilia via microtubule assembly and sphingolipid homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Dec 09; 122(49):e2503931122. PMID: 41325527.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/6/2025

    Yabaji SM, Lata S, Tseng AE, Araveti PB, Lo M, Gavrish I, O'Connell AK, Gertje HP, Belkina AC, Thurman CE, Kiyokawa H, Kotton D, Tan S, Endsley JJ, Bishai WR, Crossland N, Kobzik L, Kramnik I. Dysplastic lung repair fosters a tuberculosis-promoting microenvironment through maladaptive macrophage polarization. PLoS Pathog. 2025 Oct; 21(10):e1013563. PMID: 41052208.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/1/2025

    Berical AC, Kiyokawa H, Beermann ML, Wallman D, Cherfane G, Dunphy V, Pan J, Tilston-Lunel A, Varelas X, Horani A, Brody SL, Kotton DN, Hawkins FJ. Reply to Huang et al.: Sowing Tailored Seeds: Gene-edited Basal Cells for Precision Regulation of Airway Phenotypes. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2025 May; 211(5):884. PMID: 39999444.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 3/4/2025

    Yabaji SM, Lata S, Tseng AE, Araveti PB, Lo M, Gavrish I, O'Connell AK, Gertje HP, Belkina AC, Thurman CE, Kiyokawa H, Kotton D, Tan S, Endsley JJ, Bishai WR, Crossland N, Kobzik L, Kramnik I. Aberrant macrophage activation and maladaptive lung repair promote tuberculosis progression uniquely in the lung. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 04. PMID: 40093068.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 23 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Postdoctoral Associate (previously held), Center for Regenerative Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Websites

Education

  • Kyoto University, MD

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