Alexander Settle
Lab: Huse

Project: Exploring the importance of mechanosensing in antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis

Phagocytosis, the process by which immune cells engulf and destroy pathogens and cancer, is sensitive to the mechanical properties of the target. Specifically, macrophages efficiently engulf rigid cargo but are less effective at engulfing soft material such as cancer cells. My work focuses on the mechanism by which macrophages preferentially destroy rigid targets to understand how to engineer macrophages to enhance phagocytosis of soft cancer cells.

Project: Exploring translational dysregulation as a driver of T-cell exhaustion.

T-cells, which are immune cells that play an essential role in anti-tumor defense, exhibit decreased production of anti-tumor molecules within tumors over time. In this proposal, I hypothesize that the imbalance of nutrient supply and demand underlies as a roadblock for T-cell anti-tumor activity. The results of this proposal will provide insights on the synergy between establishing nutrient balance and immunotherapy to improve T-cell activity against cancer.

Yanyang Chen
Lab: Maciejowski

Project: Barrier to autointegration factor (BANF1) is a critical regulator of TREX1 recruitment to ruptured micronuclei

Chromosomally instability in cancers frequently lead to cytosolic DNA, which can trigger cGAS-STING innate immune pathway and alert the immune system. My project investigates how cancer cells silence the innate immune activation by processing DNA in aberrant nuclear compartments turned micronuclei. Understanding the enzymatic degradation of micronuclear DNA can provide therapeutic targets to boost immunotherapy response of cancers by exploiting their genomic instability.
 

Dasom Kim
Lab: Diehl

Project: Regulation of T cell responses against intestinal microbes

In the human body, dynamic interactions between the host and microbiota shape the development and responsiveness of the host immune system, allowing for the induction of protective immunity against pathogens while also limiting aberrant responses against the microbiota. My project seeks to understand how inflammatory T cell responses against the microbiota are restrained during homeostasis and disease state. Understanding the regulatory mechanism will allow us to develop novel ways to limit intestinal inflammation and protect from chronic inflammatory diseases such as IBD or cancer.
 

Evelyn Minh Nguyen
Lab: Rudin

Project: Investigating mechanisms of antigen presentation deficiency in lung cancers

MHC-I-peptide antigen presentation by tumor cells is required for efficacy and durability of T cell-based immunotherapies but is often downregulated in solid tumors. My work focuses on dissecting the tumor-intrinsic drivers of antigen presentation deficiency in lung cancers, with the goal of elucidating therapeutic opportunities for immunotherapy resistance. I have performed a “druggable” genome CRISPR screen to identify novel negative regulators of MHC-I presentation and will leverage our group’s existing library of patient samples and PDX to substantiate our understanding of this fundamental mechanism.
 

Sayyed Hamed Shahoei
Lab: Massagué

Project: A Novel Niche-labeling Approach for Studying Tumor-Immune Interface in Metastasis

The majority of cancer-associated mortalities are due to metastatic relapse. Given the pivotal role immune cells play throughout the progression of the disease, using state-of-the-art labeling techniques, this project aims to illuminate the role of primary tumor immune stroma in metastatic dissemination, an area that holds therapeutic promise in suppressing metastatic relapse.
 

Mohita Malay Tagore
Lab: White

Project: Identification and targeting of macrophage/melanocyte interactions in melanoma

Effective communication between transformed cancer cells and the healthy microenvironment plays an essential role in tumor development. Macrophages are one of the most abundant cell types in the melanoma immune microenvironment, yet, identification and targeting of tumor/macrophage interactions have been challenging. In this study, using a genetic reporter system in a zebrafish melanoma model as well as human tissues, we identify regulators of cell-cell interactions between melanoma cells and macrophages resulting in new therapeutic maneuvers to target the melanoma immune microenvironment.
 

Jing Zhang
Lab: Li

Project: Targeting Tumor Resident Cytotoxic Innate Lymphocytes for Immunotherapy in Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma

Malignancy can be suppressed by the immune system in a process termed cancer immunosurveillance, with T cell response being the most widely studied modality. Recently, we discovered a novel innate lymphocyte response in both human and murine cancers, which is functional regulated by interleukin-15. I’m interested in determining the lineage commitment of these tumor-resident cytotoxic innate lymphocytes and developing new strategies to target them for therapy.