A major focus of the immunotherapy research happening at the Neal Cancer Center is on the tumor immune microenvironment and understanding mechanisms of tumorigenesis. Tumor cells evade immune surveillance at multiple stages of cancer progression. The Cancer Developmental Therapeutics research investigations aim to identify key factors that participate and/or regulate in the crosstalk between tumor-initiating cells (cancer stem cells) and host immune cells. Knowledge gained from researchers will help counteract tumor-mediated immune suppression to develop impactful, novel immunotherapies.

Learn More About Our Cancer Developmental Therapeutics Research ➝

Tumor cells develop resistance to anticancer therapies through intricate and multifaceted mechanisms, which can be tumor cell intrinsic or extrinsic, and include the stromal tumor microenvironment (TME) components in the primary tumor and distal metastatic sites. The goal of the Cancer Biology and Immunotherapy studies is to elucidate and target mechanisms of therapy resistance, with emphasis on both tumor cell intrinsic and TME-associated resistance mechanisms. Our scientists use state-of-the-art spatial biology technologies and cutting-edge drug targeting or delivery approaches to research and develop innovative anticancer treatments.

Learn More About Our Cancer Biology and Immunology Research ➝

The purpose of the Cancer Prevention and Control studies at the Neal Cancer Center is to identify, understand and mitigate factors that contribute to cancer risk, as well as to develop and evaluate new strategies for early cancer detection, including novel biomarkers.

Learn More About Our Cancer Prevention and Control Research ➝

Innovation:

• Novel Mechanisms of Therapeutic Resistance in Multiple Myeloma
  • Jing Yang, PhD
• Next-Gen Prediction Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Novel Approaches to Combine Proteomics With Other Multi-Omics Analysis
  • Hung Luu, MD, PhD
• AI-Assisted MRD Detection in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
  • Guangyu Wang, PhD

Cellular Therapy IIT:

• Phase 1b Trial of Autologous PSMA-Directed CAR T Cells With an Inducible Safety Switch in Advanced Prostate Cancer
  • Bin He, PhD

Investigator-Initiated Interventional Treatment Trial:

• A Phase Ib/II Study of Trastuzumab Deruxtecan (T-DXd) in Combination With a RAGE Inhibitor in Patients With T-DXd–Resistant HER2-Positive or HER2-Low Breast Cancer
  • Akshjot Puri, MD

Innovation:

• Impact of TLS Organogenesis and Maturation on ICI Treatment Response in MIBC Patients
  • Fotis Nikolo, PhD
• Development of CR-Ric-LNP to Treat Breast Cancer Metastasis to the Brain
  • Kyuson Yun, PhD

Investigator-Initiated Interventional Treatment Trial:

• Phase II Trial of Comprehensive Multimodal Prehabilitation Alone or in Combination With Planned Neoadjuvant Therapy in High-Risk Patients Prior to Elective Major Cancer Surgery
  • Nestor Esnaola, MD

Innovation:

• Mechanisms and Targeting of Lysosome Biogenesis in Tumor Persisten
  • Yulin Li, MD, PhD
• Exploring the tumor repressive activity of ERβ mRNA-based therapy in aggressive forms of breast cancer
  • Christoforos Thomas, PhD

IIT:

• Phase II trial of an iNOS inhibitor plus tremelimumab and durvalumab in patients with metastatic or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Anaum Maqsood, MD
• Phase I Trial of 5-Fluoruracil (5FU)-based Therapy in Combination with Hydoxytyrosol (HT) in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
  • Maen Abdelrahim, MD, PhD, PharmB
• Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Novel, Blood Epigenetic Marker for Assessing Measurable Residual Disease in Patients with AML
  • Shilpan Shah, MBBS
• High dose RA TE brachytherapy prior to robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy with selective adjuvant advanced androgen blockage for localized high-risk prostate cancer (NEOHDR-B)
  • Andrew M. Farach, MD

CAR-T:

• Armored, affinity-tuned EpCAM CAR T cells for gastric cancer
  • Moonsoo M. Jin, PhD

Innovation:

• Liver HCC Molecular Imaging Theranostics
  • Diego Martin, MD, PhD, FRCPC
• Deciphering a novel mechanism of myeloma tumorigenesis in African Americans with obesity
  • Jing Yang, PhD

IIT:

• Combination Therapy Using ATRA and Carfilzomib to Treat Proteasome Inhibitor Refractory Multiple Myeloma
  • Qing Yi, MD, PhD

Cancer Immunoprevention with a Novel mRNA Vaccine

• Ming You, PhD
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD
• Roman Sukhovershin, PhD (RNAcore)

Combination Therapy with PSMA-CART and Anti-PD1 for Metastatic Prostate Cancer

• Bin He, PhD
• Brian Miles, MD

Activating Retinoic Acid Receptors to Overcome Myeloma Drug Resistance

• Qing Yi, MD, PhD
• Sai Ravi Pingali, MD
• Qiang Wang, PhD

LINE-1 Retroelement Expression and Lung Cancer Immune Evasion

• Kenneth Ramos, PhD (TAMU)
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD
• Eric Bernicker, MD

Nuclear Receptor 4A1 (NR4R1) Antagonists as Immunotherapy Mimics for Targeting PD-L1 in Colon Cancer

• Maen Abdelrahim, MD
• Stephen Safe, PhD (TAMU)

Nano-immunotherapy Targeting Macrophages to Arrest Liver Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer

• Aparna Kamat, MD
• Biana Godin, PhD
• Shreya Raghavan, PhD (TAMU)

Exploration of Early-Stage Biomarkers of Urothelial Cell Transformation Induced by Chronic Arsenic Exposure

• Raj Satkunasivam, MD
• Taeyun Roh, PhD (TAMU)

Multi-Omics Profiling Of Squamous Cell Lung Cancer

• Randa El-Zein, PhD

Identification of Epigenetic and Immune Biomarker Changes During the Progression of Non-Alcohol Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

• Nestor Esnaola, MD., MPH
• Kaifu Chen, PhD
• Ping-Ying Pan, PhD
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD

Harnessing Immune-checkpoint Therapy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

• Ping-Yan Pan, PhD
• Shu-Hsia Chen, PhD
  
  

Characterization of Breast Microbiome in Triple-negative Breast Cancer and Prediction of Immunotherapy Response

• Roberto Rosato, PhD
• Polly Niravath, MD