Tumor Immunobiology Program

Program Leader(s)

Description of the Program

The mandate of the Tumor Immunology Program is to foster interactions between basic, translational and clinical investigators to develop immune-based treatments for cancer.

The Program's research is organized surrounding the following major themes:

T and B Cell Development
Regulation Cytotoxic Cells
Immune Suppression
Cancer Immunotherapy

Goals of the Program

The overall goals of the Tumor Immunobiology Program are to analyze the interaction of tumors with the immune system in order to facilitate new immunotherapeutic approaches that can be employed in cancer treatment and to understand the interactions between tumors and the host immune response. The program emphasizes the translation of preclinical investigations into clinically testable and potentially useful strategies for diagnosis and therapy. Specific program goals are listed below:

Basic studies are directed toward understanding the way immune cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, recognize and kill tumor cells and how B cells generate antibodies which mark tumor cells for elimination by specialized immunologic scavengers such as macrophages.
Preclinical translational studies, which capitalize on new insights from basic research focus on developing new high-impact treatment concepts, which in combination, can arrest and reverse tumor growth in rodents.
A coordinated clinical trial program is testing promising immune-based treatments in cancer patients.