Cancer immunotherapy is designed to activate a person’s own immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. The advent of cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized the clinical cancer treatment and significantly reduced cancer-related mortality rates. As a result, many patients now receive immunotherapeutic agents as part of the standard of care in both early and late stages of the disease. Despite the remarkable successes of immunotherapies, not all cancer patients respond to them, and some who do may relapse after an initial response.  The research conducted in the Immuno-Oncology (IO) program seeks to understand and manipulate the complex interplay between immune cells and tumor/stromal cells to develop novel approaches for cancer treatment.  The overall goals of the IO program are two-fold: (1) to develop novel approaches to activate or reinvigorate innate and adaptive immunity against cancer cells; and (2) to understand the underlying mechanisms behind various types of immune evasion and their impact on anti-tumor immune responses using multi-omics approaches. The IO program has established a state-of-the art core facility, the Functional Immunomics Core (FIC), which houses Helios CyTOF and Hyperion Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC). 

Ongoing tumor immunology projects include:

• Developing novel immunotherapies, such as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and CAR T-cell therapy, which are part of our clinical trials program at the Brown Cancer Center
• Playing a leading role in immunocheckpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy clinical trials in metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and investigating intrinsic and acquired ICI treatment resistance
• Using natural compounds, such as beta-glucans, to induce trained immunity-an innate form of memory-in combination with cancer-specific antibodies or ICI, to enahnce the anti-cancer efficacy of either agent alone
• Dissecting the tumor immune microenvironment using multi-omics approaches to understand spatial and temporal interactions among immune cells, tumor cells, and stromal cells 
• Utilizing edible, plant-derived microparticles called exosomes to modulate inflammation in cancer patients
• Exploring interactions between the immune system and the microbiome in cancer progression
• Testing an embryonic stem cell vaccine to universally prevent and treat human cancers

Researchers focused on Tumor Immunology include:

Program Leader:		Program Co-Leader:
	Yan, Jun, M.D., Ph.D.		Bodduluri, Haribabu, Ph.D.
Members:
	Chesney, Jason. M.D., Ph.D.		Mitchell, Robert A., Ph.D.
	Deng, Zhong-bin, Ph.D.		Mitchell, Thomas C.
	Ding, Chuanlin, Ph.D.		Nair, Sharmila, Ph.D.
	Farag, Aly		Ratajczak, Janina, M.D., Ph.D.
	Fernandez-Botran, G. Rafael, Ph.D.		Ratajczak, Mariusz Z., M.D., Ph.D., DSci, D
	Guo, Haixun, Ph.D.		Smith, Melissa Laird, Ph.D.
	Jala, Venkatakrishna Rao, Ph.D.		Teng, Yun, Ph.D., M.B.
	Jon B. Klein, M.D., Ph.D.		Watson, Corey T., Ph.D.
	Kopecheck, Jonathan A., Ph.D.		Yaddanapudi, Kavitha, Ph.D.
			Jian Zheng, M.D., Ph.D.
			Huang-Ge Zhang, DVM, Ph.D.