Who Should Attend: 1. Cancer immunologists 2. Researchers performing immuno-oncology research by flow cytometry 3. Bench scientists and clinicians who have an interest in building their knowledge base around designing experiments or studies that leverage specific analytical advantages of flow cytometry
Recent research advances in the clinical development of immune modulating agents targeting PD-1, PDL-1 and CTLA-4 have renewed interest in the potential of cell based therapeutics including those that employ B-, T- and NK-lymphocytes and neutrophils. UCSD and its associated Moores Cancer Center have been at the forefront in the creation and development of these new therapeutic modalities, which are now being advanced into human clinical studies. The Cell Therapy Translational Laboratory (CTTL) under the direction of Dr. Charles Prussak, has been created by the UCSD School of Medicine to serve as the engine to generate translational cell based clinical studies that take advantage of breakthroughs discovered in UCSD research laboratories.
In his presentation, Dr. Prussak will discuss the renewed interest in cell based immunotherapies and the advances his lab is making in creating these next generation therapies. Dr. Prussak is currently developing a chimeric antigen receptor modified T-cells (CARs) that target the fetal antigen ROR1. This ROR1 targeting T-cell CAR is currently in late stage pre-clinical development and phase I clinical studies are expected to be initiated in early 2018.
Key Highlights:
- Strategies in cell based immunotherapies and CAR generation
- Advances in the development of tumor targeting cell therapies
- How flow cytometry enables expanded tumor and variable testing