Cho Laboratory
Translational Cancer Immunology
The Cho Lab explores ways to improve cancer-fighting immunotherapies with a focus on translating discoveries into the clinic.
Immunotherapies work by helping the immune system identify and attack cancer cells. In recent years, these breakthrough treatments have saved countless lives and given new hope to people with once untreatable cancers.
Despite immense progress, not all cancers respond to immunotherapy. Some cancers — including those in the pancreas, liver, bile ducts and GI tract — remain resistant. The Cho Lab investigates why these cancers are less susceptible to immunotherapies and seeks ways to make them more effective.
One such strategy is called histotripsy. This powerful approach uses ultrasound to disrupt tumors and elicit an immune response, which helps the body recognize and fight cancer cells. Studies by Dr. Cho and colleagues led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of histotripsy for use as a cancer treatment.
As chief medical Officer of University of Michigan Health-West and a professor at Van Andel Institute and University of Michigan, Dr. Cho continues to pursue translation of discoveries from the lab into the clinic. His current investigative focus is to understand and optimally harness the immunostimulatory effects that histotripsy has within the tumor microenvironment.
News & Publications
Learn More
The promise of soundwaves in treating cancer
Van Andel Institute announces 2025 Public Lecture Series
Physician-scientist and cancer immunotherapy expert Dr. Clifford Cho joins Van Andel Institute
Mendiratta-Lala M … Cho CS, Littler P, Wah TM, Solbiati L, Ziemlewicz TJ. 2024. The #HOPE4LIVER single-arm pivotal trial for histotripsy of primary and metastatic liver tumors. Radiology 312(3):e233051.
Xu Z, Khokhlova TD, Cho CS, Khokhlova VA. 2024. Histotripsy: A method for mechanical tissue ablation with ultrasound. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 26(1):141–167.
Worlikar T, Hall T, Zhang M, Mendiratta-Lala M, Green M, Cho CS, Xu Z. 2023. Insights from in vivo preclinical cancer studies with histotripsy. Int J Hyperthermia 41(1):2297650.
Our Impact
We’re raising thousands to save millions.
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- 141 peer-reviewed papers published in 2025, 74 of which were in high-impact journals
- 15 VAI-SU2C Epigenetics Dream Team clinical trials launched to date
- 10 clinical trials and related projects supported by VAI through the International Linked Clinical Trials Program
Clifford Cho, M.D.
Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Areas of Expertise
Cancer, clinical translation, histotripsy, immunology, immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment
Biography
Clifford S. Cho, M.D., is a cancer surgeon and scientist who studies the immune effects of focused ultrasound tumor treatment.
He holds appointments as chief medical officer of University of Michigan Health-West, professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Van Andel Institute and professor of surgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Cho is an Honors graduate of Brown University and Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his surgical residency training at University of Wisconsin, where he served as administrative chief resident. While there, he also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in transplantation immunology. He conducted his surgical oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as administrative chief fellow and received the Kristen Ann Carr Fellowship.
He was subsequently appointed as a faculty member at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He was later appointed chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, promoted to associate professor (with tenure), and named the inaugural
Ronald and Patricia Kissinger Professor of Surgical Oncology. In 2016, the University of Michigan recruited him as the C. Gardner Child Professor of Surgery. He also served as chief of the Division of Hepatopancreatobiliary and Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery, vice chair of Surgical Oncology, and executive director of the Cancer Network of West Michigan. In 2024, he was named chief medical officer of University of Michigan Health-West and appointed as a professor in Van Andel Institute’s Department of Cell Biology.
Dr. Cho’s clinical practice focuses on surgical and multidisciplinary management of liver and pancreatic cancer. He has been actively involved in the clinical development of histotripsy, a novel type of non-invasive cancer therapy that uses focused ultrasound to disrupt tumors. He recently served as co-principal investigator of the Hope4Liver national multicenter clinical trial, which demonstrated the safety and efficacy of histotripsy liver tumor treatment and led to FDA approval of histotripsy.
Dr. Cho is principal investigator of a National Cancer Institute-funded research laboratory that discovered the immunostimulatory effects of histotripsy and explores the effects of histotripsy treatment on the tumor microenvironment. As a professor at VAI, he aims to create a multi-institutional translational research center that explores and harnesses the unique immunotherapeutic implications of histotripsy.
Selected Publications
For a full list of Dr. Cho’s publications, please visit his PubMed bibliography ➔
Jiayu Liu
Research Technician, Department of Cell Biology
Jennifer Lorenz
Senior Administrative Assistant I, Department of Cell Biology
Heineken Queen
Ph.D. Student, University of Michigan