Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Immunotherapy, whereby the immune system is stimulated to attack a tumor, has emerged as a novel and revolutionary treatment for previously incurable cancers in recent years. Notwithstanding the excitement about the potential of this new treatment, success in clinical trials has been limited to subsets of patients. Tumors often develop ways of avoiding elimination by the immune system, while immunotherapy can cause serious side effects that lead some patients to interrupt treatment. Addressing this problem requires the development of more potent, yet safer forms of immunotherapy. In the past, independent approaches of stimulating the immune system have demonstrated efficacy against cancer, by inducing the growth of lymphatic vessels, treating tumors with radiation, or delivering molecules that activate the immune system specifically in the tumor. Here, I am proposing to explore whether and how these independent approaches can be combined, to develop more efficient immunotherapies. In addition to the potential of directly developing better treatments, my research will glean biological understanding on the interaction of different types of immunotherapy, thus leading to the broader advancement of the field.