Oleg E. Akilov, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh and a Director of the Cutaneous Lymphoma Program and Extracorporeal Photopheresis Unit. Dr. Akilov directs Cutaneous Lymphoma Program providing the full spectrum of…
Our research interests are focused on the mechanisms of cross-priming of antigens during immune responses to cancer, viruses and autoimmunity. The pursuit of this research area stems from the observations that in many situations, heat shock proteins (HSPs) are both…
My research has focused on mechanisms to enhance cellular immunotherapies for cancer. My work thus far has centered on the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in metabolically optimizing Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)T cells for the in vivo environment. I…
Immunotherapy, specifically anti-PD1, has improved patient survival in a range of tumor types including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite the success of anti-PD1 therapy, only 20% of patients produce a durable…
Dr. Bunimovich is a faculty member of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Institute, and a graduate faculty member in Molecular Pharmacology and Cellular & Molecular Pathology. He obtained PhD in Chemistry…
My laboratory investigates the intercellular communications between stroma, tumor cells and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. I am particularly focused on gaining a better understanding of how factors, secreted by stromal and tumor cells, modulate the immunosuppressive activities of…
The Cillo Lab focuses on understanding how immune cells make cell fate decisions, how intercellular communication influences these cell fate decisions, and the ways in which cell-cell interactions shape community dynamics in the tumor microenvironment. To address these questions, we…
My research interests are in translational science. Specifically, I am interested in designing early-phase clinical trials based on an improved understanding of tumor immunobiology and host-tumor-microenvironment interactions. Additionally, I am interested in the mechanisms underlying non-response to checkpoint inhibition and…
In recent years, the decades-long promise of tumor immunotherapy has finally begun to come to fruition. Checkpoint blockade, for example, represents a critically important intervention for potentiating the antitumor immune response. In these therapies, blockade of T cell intrinsic negative…
Dr. Edwards' research interests include the treatementHPV-related and ovarian malignancies with immunotherapeutic approaches. He serves as principal investigator for a number of pharmaceutical-sponsored studies. He also serves on the Cancer Vaccine Committee, which experiments with novel therapeutic approaches to gynecologic malignancies and produces…
Dr. Falo is actively involved in a variety of research projects focused on the prevention and treatment of melanoma and skin cancers, and has research expertise in the areas of cutaneous drug delivery, radioprotection, immunobiology, vaccine design, antigen processing and…
The long-standing interests of our laboratory center on identifying specific mechanisms of human anti-tumor immunity and cancer immunosurveillance. We study T cell and antibody repertoire in cancer patients and in healthy individuals at risk for cancer and factors that influence that…
I am an assistant professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh and member of Tumor Microenvironment Center at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. My research focuses on the mechanisms that control cell death and how the quality of cell death…
Understanding how extracellular signals are linked to gene expression is a fundamental challenge in biology, and more specifically, macrophage signal integration is central to understanding healthy versus aberrant regulation of inflammation. My laboratory uses quantitative approaches to address these problems, with…
The laboratory of Timothy Hand, PhD, is interested in the immune cells of the intestine and how they respond to the first interactions with colonizing microorganisms. How the immune system deals with newly colonizing bacteria is important, since too little…
The Hinterleitner Lab studies mucosal immune responses to gut microbes. Current projects are centered around how gut protists shape immune responses in the context of celiac disease, IBD, and colon cancer.
Bone marrow stem cell transplantation is, for many, the only curative treatment for leukemia and lymphoma-blood cancers. From this technique, we have learned that immune cells of the donor which are transferred in the transplant can eradicate blood cancer, in…
The research in my laboratory focuses on using T cell antigen discovery techniques to understand and engineer immunity. One of the areas we are interested in is uncovering the targets of antitumor T cell responses and using this knowledge to…
As Director of the Solid Tumor Cell Therapy Program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, I oversee both clinical and research studies aimed at developing effective T cell-based immunotherapies for advanced cancer. We employ an integrated translational approach based upon preclinical in…
My lab is currently pursuing several projects: 1. The role of TIM-3 in CD8+ T cells This project currently involves the study of – TIM-3, a novel protein of the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain family in regulation of…
Dr. Kirkwood’s research focuses upon melanoma immunobiology, therapy and prevention. His translational studies established the first effective adjuvant therapy of melanoma, and identified the immunological basis of this therapy, and are now probing the role of molecularly targeted agents (BRAF,…
I am an early-career researcher with a strong passion for cancer-related research. The goal of the my lab is to unravel the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, with a particular focus on CD8+ regulatory T…
Dr. Lohmueller’s laboratory focuses on engineering synthetic receptors and gene circuits to improve adoptive cell therapies to treat cancer. Two major goals of the lab include enhancing receptor targeting specificity as well as remediating suppression of the anti-tumor immune response.…
Dr. Lotze's primary area of research is broadly in tumor immunology, particularly the role of cellular therapy using dendritic cells, T cells, and NK cells. His current research interests include the further identification of clinical biomarkers and surrogates in the…
Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center where he is Associate Director for Clinical Research and the Director of the Immunotherapy and Drug Development Center (Phase I). Dr.…
Cancer related research: 1. Tumor immune microenvironment in ovarian cancer focusing on tumor associated macrophages and TGF-B as well as strategies to enhance benefit of immunotherapy in ovarian cancer; 2. Her2 directed targeted therapy in combination approach targeting resistance mechanisms;…
Marcus Malek, MD, director of Pediatric Surgical Oncology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, directs a unique research program focused on improving surgical outcomes in pediatric tumors through use of novel molecular imaging technology. Towards this end, he and his…
Our lab is exploring the role of the gut and tissue microbiome on systemic immunity in the context of complex diseases such as autoimmunity and cancer. Further we ask how we can use other environmental factors such as physical exercise…
Yana G. Najjar, MD is a translational investigator and cutaneous oncologist at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, where she is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center. Dr. Najjar specializes in the treatment…
My broad research program will address the following question: How can the microbiome-specific immune response be modified or targeted to improve cancer patient response to immunotherapy? I will utilize the expertise and tools I have developed throughout my training to…
To identify molecular differences between responders and non-responders in cancer immunotherapies, we develop data-science techniques, AI-driven tools, and statistical inference methods. Based on the models, we attempt to stratify patients that will likely benefit from immunotherapies and identify potential therapeutic…
I am a physician-scientist in the Department of Radiation Oncology here at Hillman. The focus of my translational research lab is on the development of new combination radiation immunotherapy treatments. In particular, my current research focus is on the development…
My research focuses on understanding how immune cells integrate signals encountered in the environment to drive functional outcomes at the molecular and epigenetic level in both health and disease. The tumor microenvironment plays important roles in limiting T cell function…
Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh in 1992, Dr. Ian Pollack was awarded the 1991 Van Wagenen Traveling Fellowship, which afforded him a year of subspecialty training in the Department…
Our research program focuses on the mechanisms of cellular and molecular interactions in the tumor microenvironment. The elements of the tumor microenvironment can collectively exert both stimulatory and inhibitory pressures on the proliferative, angiogenic, neurogenic and immunomodulating potential of cancerous cells, as…
My laboratory studies tumor immunobiology and designs immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer based on results from translational modeling. My near-term research goal remains the development of novel phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with cancer, with…
Our research focuses on various aspects of T cell regulation and function: (1) Mechanistic Focus: (a) Immune Regulation: Regulatory T cells (Tregs): Identification of novel Treg molecules and their function; mechanism of Treg function; regulation of Treg stability via Nrp1 and other pathways; IL-35 signaling…
The goals of my research program include: (1) define the cellular and molecular mechanisms of immune evasion during cancer development; (2) develop more effective cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and B cell…
Dr. Whiteside’s research interests are in tumor Immunology and immunotherapy with special focus on mechanisms of tumor-induced immunosuppression, extracellular vesicles, cytokine networks, immunology of human head and neck cancer, melanoma, acute myelogenous leukemia and breast cancer. Her research is focused on mechanisms of tumor escape…
Hassane Zarour, MD is a dermatologist and cancer immunologist whose research focuses on basic and translational human cancer immunology in the melanoma field. His work has led to the identification of novel melanoma MHC class II-presented epitopes that have been…
