PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
UNC-Chapel Hill
Immunology and Immunotherapy Research Program
Area of Interest
The Milner lab focuses on developing new and exciting approaches for enhancing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. We utilize cutting-edge genomics, bioengineering, computational, and immunological techniques to identify molecular drivers of T cell differentiation and function in the tumor microenvironment. Our ultimate goal is to devise effective strategies for reprogramming or tailoring the activity of T cells in cancer.
Awards and Honors
- Lung Cancer Initiative Career Development Award
- Mary Kay Ash Award
- Hirschberg Foundation Seed Award (with John Morris)
- V Foundation Scholar Award
- UNC Pancreatic Cancer Spore Career Enrichment Award
- UNC Lineberger Innovation Award
- UNC Computational Medicine Pilot Award (with Natalie Stanley)
- American Association of Immunologists Intersect Award
- NC CGIBD Pilot Award
- NIH NCI K99/R00
News and Stories
Uniquely engineered KRAS-targeted cancer drug found to be effective in early studies
Chad Pecot, MD, and colleagues have demonstrated that a uniquely engineered drug that zeroes in on a mutated gene called KRAS G12V could potentially stop KRAS-dependent cancers in their tracks.
Milner awarded $2.79 million NIH grant to study epigenetic regulation of T cell exhaustion
The NIH has awarded a five-year, $2.79 million R01 research grant to Justin Milner, PhD, to define how a druggable family of epigenetic regulators control T cell activity.
