Checkpoint blockade

Blocking the function of inhibitory receptors found on immune cells (immune checkpoint receptors) has changed the landscape of cancer treatment and may represent a therapeutic cornerstone for some cancer types. Unfortunately, resistance and relapse are common. We seek to understand major mechanisms of therapeutic resistance that are coordinated by both cancer cells and T cells.

CAR T cells

Another revolutionary cancer immunotherapy is chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. Our goal is to engineer CAR T cells to not only improve their function but also to enable them to favorably recruit endogenous immune cells to participate in tumor killing.

Innate immunity

Optimal immune responses require proper activation of innate immune cells to either facilitate or complement adaptive immune function. We seek to understand the contribution of select innate immune populations to immunotherapy response and how to more effectively activate them.