Development of novel, targeted cancer immunotherapies is severely impeded by a lack of computational tools to systematically identify suitable tumor-specific targets. My overall goal is to build immunogenomic approaches for identification of novel antigenic targets that serve as a basis for development of highly effective immunotherapies. As an early-stage investigator setting up an independent lab at MD Anderson, receipt of the prestigious CPRIT First Time Tenure Track Award would greatly enable me to achieve the following goals within the first 5 years of the award. 1) Create a comprehensive antigen discovery platform comprising: •a best-in-class neoantigen vaccine pipeline incorporating majo...

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Development of novel, targeted cancer immunotherapies is severely impeded by a lack of computational tools to systematically identify suitable tumor-specific targets. My overall goal is to build immunogenomic approaches for identification of novel antigenic targets that serve as a basis for development of highly effective immunotherapies. As an early-stage investigator setting up an independent lab at MD Anderson, receipt of the prestigious CPRIT First Time Tenure Track Award would greatly enable me to achieve the following goals within the first five years of the award.

1) Create a comprehensive antigen discovery platform comprising: •a best-in-class neoantigen vaccine pipeline incorporating major conceptual and empirical improvements •an immunogenomic toolkit for somatic alteration detection in highly polymorphic immune-related genes based on bulk and single-cell sequencing data •a multi-modal framework for identification of antigens from 'dark' and aberrantly expressed genomic regions •computational pipelines for analysis of clonal evolution in tumor and lymphocyte cells in well-annotated clinical samples in order to identify immunogenic antigen targets and their cognate immune cell receptor sequences.

2) Work synergistically with the ECLIPSE Moon Shot Research platform to aid their antigen discovery efforts in heme malignancies.

3) Develop a formal personalized cancer vaccine program with Dr. Molldrem and initiate the first vaccine trial in the acute myeloid leukemia setting. Identify and initiate collaborations with key external investigators in order to bolster the program.

4) Publish high-impact papers pertaining to antigen discovery and elucidation of mechanisms of response and resistance to cancer immunotherapy.

5) Obtain 1-2 NIH R01 grants and 1-2 grants through DOD and other mechanisms.

6) Mentor 1-2 postdocs and 1-2 PhD students such that at least a couple are ready to transition to their next roles in either academia or industry.

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