Regulation between immune activation and tolerance is crucial in the pathogenesis of cancer. Recent development of intravital 2-photon microscopy allows direct observation of how immune cells traffic and interact with various cells in the tumor microenvironment in real time with single-cell resolution.

Our laboratory is interested in applying this and other classical immunological techniques to study various aspects of anti-tumor immune responses, immune – host – pathogen interaction, T cell-mediated memory immunity, and chemokine - receptor biology.  Ongoing projects include:

1) Interrogation of the signaling crosstalk among molecular mediators downstream of the antigen receptor and chemokine receptors in T cells

 

2) Investigation into factors which influence the dynamic recruitment of T cells and their interactions with tumor cells and associated antigen-presenting cells in tumor-associated microenvironment

 

3) Imaging dynamic interaction between peri-vascular APC and Th17 cells in the CNS during early induction of acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

 

4) Discovering molecular signaling mechanisms responsible for the regulation of chemokine receptor expression on naive T cells

 

5) Testing the efficacy of genetically-modified tumor vaccines in the setting of sarcomas and other childhood cancer

 

6) Developing imaging techniques to interrogate immune cell migration and interactions in tissues such as the bone marrow, lung, kidney, GI track and the skin.     

The long-term goal of our laboratory is to translate insights gained from basic investigations of in vivo immunity into rationally designed tumor vaccine and immunotherapeutic clinical trials, with a particular emphasis in the areas of pediatric sarcomas and other solid tumors.