From improving the immunotherapy response in childhood cancer patients, to better understanding how the spread of cancer to the liver affects the body’s immune system, to helping T cells to gain vitality to be fighting cancer, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) has an early 2021 class. recipients of researcher awards are seeking ideas that have the potential to transform against oncology. The winners, officially announced today, have the power to bring their boldest ideas to fruition thanks to almost $ 3 million in support, as well as guidance from and collaboration with a network of immunotherapy specialists at PICI at a global level.
The six recipients come from major research centers in the PICI network, including Sloan Memorial Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn (Ab) Penn Cancer Center, School of Medicine Stanford University, the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and Gladstone Institutes. They also come from a variety of backgrounds, both in terms of their training and geography, as half of the winners were born outside the US mainland – Hawaii, United Kingdom and France.
This year’s class of Parker Scholars, Bridge Fellows and Senior Fellows are a unique group of young scientists. From projects that have historically been strong tools for PICI such as T cell disruption to new areas such as dendritic cells and immune tolerance, these high stars allow us to expand our efforts to turn all cancers into curable diseases. . “
Lisa Butterfield, PhD, Vice President of Research and Development, PICI
The 2021 award winners are:
- Jean-Christophe Beltra, PhD, Parker Scholar at Penn, is working to unravel the role of cytokines in CD8 T cell disruption. more of the depleted CD8 T cells and the complex process that leads to their fatigue, it now aims to determine how these cytokines can be manipulated and excreted to a partner more effective combination with PD-1 / PD-L1 Inhibitors.
- Chrysothemis (Chryssie) Brown, MBBS, PhD, Parker’s Senior Fellow at MSK, focuses on how different dendritic cells affect tumor progression and response to immunotherapy. By better understanding the immune system of pediatric patients, she hopes to identify new immunotherapy targets to elicit responses to solid tumors in children.
- Caleb Lareau, PhD, Parker Scholar at Stanford, studies how human cells change over time, looking for the mechanisms and signals that exist when a cell comes to cancer. The ability to intervene in that process could lead to the use of immunotherapy as an immunosuppressive treatment.
- James Lee, MD, a Parker Bridge Fellow at UCSF, is a medical oncologist specializing in melanoma. His research aims to understand how the spread of cancer to the liver may affect the rest of the immune system, specifically how they inhibit the effectiveness of T-cell-based immunotherapy.
- Zachary Steinhart, PhD, Parker Scholar at Gladstone Institutes, uses CRISPR gene editing techniques to improve CAR T cell therapy. It works to understand the genes necessary for T cells that can be modified to make treatments more effective.
- Evan Weber, PhD, Baller Parker Bridge at Stanford, is also working on ways to improve the efficiency of CAR T cells, and his approach is linked to T cell disruption. By manipulating specific sections of DNA or proteins. can reshape DNA, it hopes to allow CAR T cells to resist or overwhelm the mutation, allowing them to kill cancer cells in a more efficient manner.
While all of the early researchers will benefit financially, they were unanimous in feeling that what sets this program apart is the access it gives them to other leaders in the field, as well as services such as information that they would not be able to use on their own.
“None of these findings will come from just one person,” said Brown. “Being part of this collaboration is the best way to deliver on the promise of our ideas.”
“Looking forward to the majority is to reach out and interact regularly with people at the highest level of the relationship,” Lee said. “The information support and banking support is tight. among the best in the country. “
“The most important developmental parts of my career came from working with people from different backgrounds. PICI is an amazing network, enabling team science at a level that is truly unique and unique,” said Lareau . “This is something I’m excited about.”
As well as funding bold ideas, the program is also a training ground for researchers as they prepare for their future science careers.
“It’s a great way for me to not only advance my research, but to learn how to manage donations and manage money, which I have to do if I run my own laboratory one day, “Beltra said.
Source:
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy