Research

Research Focus and Goals

Our laboratory focuses on advancing next-generation cancer immunotherapies by fundamentally rethinking CAR T cell design and manufacturing. We have pioneered rapid CAR T platforms that harness non-activated and less differentiated T cells to preserve cellular fitness, enhance persistence, and reduce exhaustion, which are key limitations of conventional CAR T therapies. By dramatically shortening ex vivo culture timelines, including the development of 3-Day Activated and 1-Day Non-Activated CAR T therapies, our approach prioritizes T cell quality over prolonged expansion. In parallel, we engineer CAR T cells to function effectively within challenging tumor microenvironments and develop state-of-the-art leukemia-on-chip models to accelerate translational discovery. Together, our work aims to create more durable, scalable, and accessible immunotherapies for both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Our lab is currently building transfection and transduction methodologies for both activated and non-activated T cells in collaboration with the Weissman Lab and the Institute of RNA Innovation. We are currently exploring ways to engineer human T cells using targeted lipid nanoparticles to deliver different genetic cargos both in vivo and ex vivo. 

In collaboration with the O'Connor Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, we study how metabolic programming influences T cell fitness and therapeutic function. Together, we assess the quality and functionality of immunotherapies using LC-MS–based metabolomics and Seahorse Flux analysis to characterize cellular energy production. We further achieve a comprehensive understanding of cellular metabolic pathways through carbon tracing and calcium flux assays. This integrated, metabolism-driven approach enables the rational design of more durable and effective T cell therapies.