David Taylor
Department: Cancer Biology
Faculty Mentor: Young Jun Kim, M.D., Ph.D.
Dissertation Description: Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) and Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) receptor Adjuvants in Cancer Immunotherapy
The Kim laboratory is focused on the Immunological components of the tumor microenvironment under the context of translating the findings towards clinical trials. We have characterized the adaptive immune resistance mechanisms of PD-L1 on the tumor cells that have resulted in a clinical impetus towards combination of cancer vaccines, adjuvants, radiation, and/or targeted oncological agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors. We are focused on the STING pathway, neo-antigen development, as well as other targetable immune checkpoint inhibitors and co-activators such as NKG2A, NKG2D, KIRs, TIGIT. My project project focuses on combining Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) receptor adjuvants because they have different modes of activation with TLR4 being stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) while STING is activated by cyclic DNA to stimulate an adaptive immune response. In addition, Dr. Kim, with the help of his collaborators formulated a STING adjuvant (RR-S2 CDA) that was shown to have potent anti-tumor effects in-vivo. To test the potency of the combination, we will utilize both in-vitro and in-vivo models assessing the combinatorial effects on antigen presenting cell activation, t-cell priming response, and most importantly an anti-tumor response. Executing this project will provide possible knowledge of how this novel combination will translate in the clinic and further improve upon immunotherapy efficacy.