Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but is only moderately effective and associated with significant toxicity. Advances in targeted delivery technologies using nanotechnology and cell engineering approaches will be utilized in our lab to deliver chemicals, peptides, and biologics to and modify the tumor microenvironment (TME), boost anti-tumor immunity, decrease the toxicity and addresses some other drawbacks of treatments. We take this opportunity to train new or existing undergraduate or graduate students to learn and advance existing technologies to treat cancer. The proposed and available projects will assist students in gaining new molecular insights into cancer immunotherapy and later progressing in developing combination therapies, as well as using targeted delivery strategies to reach tumors and modify TME to boost anti-tumor immunity. The strategies taught to the student during his stay in our lab prepare him to apply techniques in general to understand cancer biology and the potential opportunity to translate findings from bench to clinic in the future. The student will have the opportunity to present his findings in meetings, conferences, and publish in peer-reviewed journals.