Research Interests
The success of multiple forms of immune-based cancer therapies has revolutionized the way we approach the treatment of cancer. However, it is already apparent that our current arsenal of new drugs will not benefit all patients, and many drugs generate severe side effects. Research in my laboratory aims to unleash the full potential of our immune system to fight cancer by understanding the underlying mechanisms that enable beneficial immune responses against tumors while minimizing the detrimental responses against healthy tissues. We are particularly interested in investigating regulatory T cells (Tregs), a specialized type of T cell with immunosuppressive activity. In cancers, Tregs heavily infiltrate tumors, supporting cancer outgrowth by dampening anti-tumor immune responses. In contrast, in autoimmune diseases, Tregs can be reprogrammed to promote inflammation, exacerbating disease. We are fascinated by this natural plasticity in T cell function and we hope to exploit it for therapeutic purposes by identifying and targeting the regulatory circuits inside T cells that act as gatekeepers between different functional states.