Sarah Gitto, PhDUniversity of Pennsylania2022 Pape Family Scientific Scholar Award Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of tumor-specific TILs to enhance immunotherapy in ovarian cancer Immunotherapies aim to enhance the immune system’s capability of eliminating disease within the body. Often, immunotherapy for cancer targets a type of immune cell called T cells to activate their ability to […]
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Keith Knutson, PhDMayo Clinic Jacksonville2020 Cookie Laughlin Pilot Study Award Combination Th17-inducing vaccination and immune checkpoint blockade for ovarian cancer treatment Several types of immunotherapies that use the person’s own immune system to attack foreign “cancer” cells while leaving normal cells alone are being tested in ovarian cancer. Using immunotherapy to activate an immune pathway […]
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John Liao, MD, PhDUniversity of Washington2011 Gilman Family Scholar Development of a Polyepitope DNA Vaccine for Ovarian Cancer Immunotherapy While ovarian cancer patients can respond to chemotherapy and achieve remission, the majority of advanced stage patients succumb to recurrent disease. Strategies harnessing the immune system have the potential to augment available therapies, prolong remissions, and […]
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Alexandra Snyder Charen, MDSloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Researchr Chemotherapy, Somatic Mutations, and Neoantigens in Ovarian Cancer Immunotherapy is a new treatment that boosts a patient’s immune system to attack ovarian cancer cells. Dr. Synder Charen’s lab has already shown in melanoma that when a tumor has a large number of genetic abnormalities (mutations), the immune […]
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Sarah Beth Gitto, PhDUniversity of Pennsylvania2019 Scientific Scholar Award Priming the TME with anti-VEGF to enhance the efficacy of dual checkpoint inhibition in PARPi-resistant OC Recent studies have shown that the use of the PARP inhibitor olaparib increases survival of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, most patients will become resistant to PARP inhibitors, thus novel treatment strategies […]
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Mark Poznansky, MD, PhDMassachusetts General Hospital Antagonism of SDF-1 production by ovarian cancer and tumor immune control Immune cell migration into ovarian cancer is an important way in which the tumor is recognized as abnormal and killed by the immune system. Ovarian cancer tumors produce high amounts of a protein called SDF-1, thereby preventing immune […]
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Ingegerd Hellstrom, MD, PhDUniversity of Washington Silencing TGFbeta to increase the immunogenicity of ovarian carcinoma cells This study aims to improve a woman’s prognosis by adding a therapeutic vaccination to encourage the body to mount an anti-tumor response using the secreted growth regulatory protein TGFβ (transforming growth factor). Dr. Hellstrom has shown that a mouse […]
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Xiaohong (Mary) Zhang, PhDUniversity of South Florida, College of Medicine Mechanisms by which HDAC inhibitors sensitize cisplatin resistant ovarian cells Overcoming platinum-resistance in ovarian cancer patients remains a great challenge. Recently, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are being used to minimize resistance. HDAC6 may confer the cisplatin-resistance by down-regulating a DNA repair complex. Dr. Zhang will […]
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Lupe Salazar, MDUniversity of Washington Adoptive Transfer of Tumor Specific Th1 Cells Derived from Vaccine-Primed Patients Achieved Clinical Benefits Adoptive immunotherapy can induce cancer regression but rarely results in cure. We have infused HER2-specific Th1 cells in breast cancer patients, and 50% of patients had a partial or complete response to the treatment. Dr. Salazar […]
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Daniel Powell, PhDUniversity of Pennsylvania Preclinical Evaluation of Costimulated CIR Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Adoptive immunotherapy is extremely effective for triggering tumor regression in patients with malignant melanoma. To develop adoptive T-cell therapy for epithelial ovarian cancer, we have created a chimeric immune receptor (CIR) that redirects the immune system against alpha-folate receptor, a protein […]
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