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TRAINING PROGRAM IN IMMUNOBIOLOGY OF NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC LYMPHOCYTES

This is an extraordinarily exciting time in the field of Cancer Immunobiology. This NIH sponsored training program offers training in a wide variety of cancer-related areas of immunology including a) immune recognition, regulation, and tolerance; b) lymphocyte development; c) cell signaling and adhesion, and d) cancer immunotherapy. Training is centered around a research program conducted in the laboratory of one of the trainers. Cancer-related training is supplemented by a number of seminar series, conferences, and retreats organized by the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center and the immunology research community. Fellows also receive training in ethical and responsible conduct in research.

 

The members of this Cancer Immunobiology (CIMB) T32 have discovered and established new concepts in fundamental immunology which have impacted cancer biology (e.g., T cell exhaustion, myeloid inflammation) and launched new paradigms of cancer care (e.g., engineered CAR T cell therapy, PD-1 blockade). One of the most notable therapies developed by our T32 members here at the University of Pennsylvania is the FDA approved drug (CART-19 T cells). This is just one example of the impactful work done as part of this program, and the breadth of the training opportunities offered. The success of Cancer Immunobiology at UPenn is the result of our interactive research and training environment which provides multiple opportunities for researchers to frequently interact and collaborate within our campus.

 

The continued success of Cancer Immunobiology depends on training the next generation of researchers that will move this field forward to provide novel cancer cures. This will require a wide variety of specialized skills that span basic to translational research, both of which are strengths at UPenn and are central to this training program. As several of the important advances in Cancer Immunobiology did not derive from strictly cancer-focused research, such as checkpoint blockade in the immune system and the gene therapy vectors required for successful CAR therapy, our training program takes advantage of the multi-disciplinary interactive UPenn community to include training in NIH-funded labs that have the potential to contribute to successful cancer immunotherapy. For these reasons, we feel that even though our training grant is entering its 45th year at the University of Pennsylvania, it remains as vital as ever and that the training provided through this UPenn-based program will continue to play a central role in training future leaders in Cancer Immunobiology.

Recent Awards and Publications

Congratulations to T32 Trainee Divij Mathew, who is a 2022 Recipient of the Intersect Fellowship for Computational Scientists and Immunologists for his project: Pembrolizumab with delayed itacitinib pulse for first line treatment of metastatic lung cancer

 

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Congratulations to former T32 trainee Derek Oldridge for receiving a Parker Bridge Fellow Award from the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy!

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Congratulations to former trainee and current UPenn PI and T32 Trainer, Avery Posey, PhD, for winning the inaugural winner of the John Robert Lewis Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research!

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Congratulations to Divij Mathews, Derek Oldridge, and Josephine Giles (former trainee on this grant) for their recent publication in "Deep immune profiling of COVID-19 patients reveals distinct immunotypes with therapeutic implications" in Science!

Congratulations to Gregory Schwartz for his paper "TooManyCells identifies and visualizes relationships of single-cell clades", accepted for publication by Nature Methods!

Congratulations to Kelly Rome for her paper "Trib1 regulates T cell differentiation during chronic infection by restraining the effector program", published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine!

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Check out this cool project Khoa Tran has been a member of! He works to make science more understandable for students by using comics to convey complex ideas.

Illustration of scientists

 

 

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