Grant ID | RR220069 |
Awarded On | May 18, 2022 |
Title | Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members |
Program | CPRIT Scholar |
Award Mechanism | Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members |
Institution/Organization | Baylor College of Medicine |
Principal Investigator/Program Director | William Hudson |
Cancer Sites | Brain and Other Nervous System, Breast, Lung and Bronchus |
Contracted Amount | $2,000,000 |
Summary of Goals and Objectives |
CD8+ T cells are an important arm of the adaptive immune system with the capability to kill cells presenting non-self or mutated-self antigen through MHC I. In conditions of antigen persistence, such as cancer, CD8+ T cells differentiate into an “exhausted” state characterized by lack of cytotoxic capacity, diminished proliferative potential, and expression of co-inhibitory signaling molecules that further suppress T cell function. Antibodies that inhibit these co-inhibitory signaling pathways, such as PD-1 blocking antibodies, have been approved for the treatment of multiple cancer types. However, most cancer patients do not respond to existing immunotherapies, highlighting the need for add... |