Kenta
Nakamura
MD
FACC
CONTACTS
Phone:
(206) 543-8584
Mailing Address:
University of Washington Medical Center,
1959 NE Pacific Street,
Box 356422,
Seattle, WA 98195-6422
Non-Clinical Administrative Support:
Aidan Sara
Clinical Contacts:
For appointments or other clinical matters, please contact the Heart Institute.
About
Kenta Nakamura, M.D., F.A.C.C., is a board-certified physician at the Cardiac Clinic & Services at UW Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. He is a member of the UW Center for Cardiovascular Biology and the Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Nakamura serves as the Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Harborview Medical Center and the Director of Preclinical Research for the UW Medicine Heart Regeneration Program.
Dr. Nakamura has clinical expertise in interventional cardiology and is deeply committed to discovering novel therapies for advanced heart disease. He is an active Principal Investigator on national and international clinical trials, and his laboratory has published extensively on regenerating the injured or failing heart. An internationally recognized thought leader in gene- and cell-based regenerative therapies, Dr. Nakamura leads a multi-disciplinary research program that leverages translational investigation, large animal physiology, and advanced cardiac imaging.
Dr. Nakamura earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his internship, residency, and cardiology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, alongside post-doctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then completed advanced fellowships in interventional cardiology at the University of Washington Medical Center before joining the faculty in 2017.
Education & Training
Fellowship, Complex Coronary Intervention
University of Washington Medical Center
Seattle, WA (2018)
Fellowship, Interventional Cardiology
University of Washington Medical Center
Seattle, WA (2017)
Fellowship, Cardiovascular Disease
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA (2016)
Fellowship, Internal Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA (2013)
Medical Education
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA (2010)
personal interests
Dr. Nakamura enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with his family, skiing, camping, and throwing the lacrosse ball around.
Recent Publications
Nakamura* K, Nakamura* DS, Neidig LE, Tsuchida H, Klaiman JM, Hong S, Lin Y, Dupras SK, Yang X, Garren EJ, Kattman S, Thies RS, Dunbar CE, Murry CE, Maclellan WR. Steroid-sparing immunosuppression for MHC-mismatched allogeneic cardiomyocyte cell therapy in rhesus macaque. Circulation; 2025.
Nakamura K, Marchiano S, Reinecke H, Neidig L, Lai M, Kadota S, Perbellini F, Yang X, Klaiman JM, Blakely LP, Karbassi E, Fields PA, Fenix AM, Beussman KM, Jayabalu A, Kalucki FA, Futakuchi-Tsuchida A, Weber GJ, Dupras S, Tsuchida H, Pabon L, Wang L, Knollmann BC, Kattman S, Thies RS, Sniadecki N, Maclellan WR, Bertero A, Murry CE. Engineered pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes prevent serious engraftment-related arrhythmia in nonhuman primates Eur Heart J; 2025.
Lin* Y, Sato* N, Hong* S, Nakamura* K, Ferrante EA, Yu ZX, Chen MY, Nakamura DS, Yang X, Clevenger RR, Hunt TJ, Taylor JL, Jeffries KR, Keeran KJ, Neidig LE, Mehta A, Schwartzbeck R, Yu SJ, Kelly C, Navarengom K, Takeda K, Adler SS, Choyke PL, Zou J, Murry CE, Boehm M, Dunbar CE. Long-term engraftment and maturation of autologous iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes in two rhesus macaques. Cell Stem Cell. 2024 Jul 5;31(7):974-988.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2024.05.005. Epub 2024 Jun 5. PMID: 38843830; PMCID: PMC11227404.
Nakamura K, Henry TD, Traverse JH, Latter DA, Mokadam NA, Answini GA, Williams AR, Sun BC, Burke CR, Bakaeen FG, DiCarli MF, Chaitman BR, Peterson MW, Byrnes DG, Ohman EM, Pepine CJ, Crystal RG, Rosengart TK, Kowalewski E, Koch GG, Dittrich HC, Povsic TJ; EXACT Trial Investigators. Angiogenic Gene Therapy for Refractory Angina: Results of the EXACT Phase 2 Trial. Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2024 May;17(5):e014054. doi: 10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.124.014054. Epub 2024 May 2. PMID: 38696284; PMCID: PMC11097950.
Nakamura K, Henry TD, Traverse JH, Latter DA, Mokadam NA, Answini GA, Williams AR, Sun BC, Burke CR, Bakaeen FG, Dicarli MF, Chaitman BR, Peterson MW, Byrnes DG, Ohman EM, Pepine CJ, Crystal RG, Rosengart TK, Kowalewski E, Koch GG, Dittrich HC, Povsic TJ, Investigators ET. LB-2 | VEGF Gene Therapy Improves Exercise Time, Ischemia, and Symptoms in Patients with Refractory Angina: Results of the Phase II EXACT Trial. JSCAI; 2024
Marchiano S, Nakamura K, Reinecke H, Neidig L, Lai M, Kadota S, Perbellini F, Yang X, Klaiman JM, Blakely LP, Karbassi E, Fields PA, Fenix AM, Beussman KM, Jayabalu A, Kalucki FA, Potter JC, Futakuchi-Tsuchida A, Weber GJ, Dupras S, Tsuchida H, Pabon L, Wang L, Knollmann BC, Kattman S, Thies RS, Sniadecki N, MacLellan WR, Bertero A, Murry CE. Gene editing to prevent ventricular arrhythmias associated with cardiomyocyte cell therapy. Cell Stem Cell. 2023 Apr 6;30(4):396-414.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2023.03.010. PMID: 37028405; PMCID: PMC10283080.