The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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UNC School of Medicine | UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research

Research flow chart illustrating the bidirectional flow between phase 1 clinical trial development, pre-clinical studies in tumor models, and bioinformatic validation studies. Further details available in paragraph text.Our work utilizes a variety of techniques and methodologies that span the breadth of basic and translational biomedical research.

We integrate both transgenic and orthotopic cancer models with patient-derived clinical specimens to explore the following areas of interest:

  • The role of cellular stress pathways in tumor-mediated adaptive immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance
    • Current focus on the tumor-intrinsic NLRP3 signaling pathway
  • Understanding mechanisms of tumor-mediated dendritic cell dysfunction and tolerization in the tumor microenvironment
  • Characterizing mechanisms of tumor-dependent epigenetic reprogramming of bone marrow progenitor populations and its impact on the host immune system
  • Exploring how EMT contributes to tumor immune evasion

The long-term goal of our research program is to develop novel immunotherapy strategies and companion biomarkers for translation into phase I clinical trials.