Dr. Joseph Malaer’s research interest is in cancer immunology, focusing on enhancing natural killer (NK) cell targeting of cancer stem cells. NK cells are a subset of lymphocytes that play an important role against cancerous cells, viruses, and bacteria. Cancer stem cells are thought to be a small population of cancer cells that have the ability to migrate, proliferate, and differentiate, and are responsible for metastasis and relapse. Dr. Malaer is interested in expanding his research to include cancer health disparities and host-pathogen interactions. In addition to research and graduate education, Dr. Malaer is heavily involved in teaching for the new undergraduate Biomedical Sciences program at UNTHSC and serves as course director for the undergraduate Immunology, Applied Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Human Physiology courses.