Grant: Project Grant

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are being used to treat cancer patients, yet there are major gaps in our understanding of how they work. Although developed to kill cancer cells directly, an increasing body of evidence suggests that their most important function is to engage the body's immune system to attack the cancer. How this happens is complex and not well understood. Preliminary data suggest that oncolytic rhabdoviruses (ORVs) engage anticancer T cell responses by infecting both cancer and normal cells. Our objective is to determine how cancer and non-cancer cell infections contribute to the T cell immune response incited by ORV therapy. This knowledge will inform our and other's efforts to develop more effective ORV-based strategies for treating cancer.