Cedric Chan Rose Hills
CITEseq analysis of tumor neoantigen specific CD8 T cells
The immune system’s ability to recognize and respond to cancer is a dynamic process that evolves over time, shaped by ongoing exposure to tumor-derived antigens. Understanding how immune cells — particularly tumor killing neoantigen-specific CD8+ T cells — adapt at both the transcriptomic and proteomic levels during tumor progression is critical for developing more effective immunotherapies. While current research has highlighted general features of T cell exhaustion and dysfunction in cancer, much remains unknown about how these processes unfold in vivo across different stages of disease exposure. By leveraging high-resolution CITE-seq data across multiple mice with varying durations of cancer exposure, this project offers a novel opportunity to dissect temporal changes in immune phenotypes and uncover unique networks of genes that our immune system deploys in response to cancer. By applying up to date single cell computation methods and machine learning models, this analysis can reveal key pathways of immune adaptation, identify early versus late markers of dysfunction, and uncover novel targets for interventions aimed at reinvigorating anti-tumor immunity.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for funding my research project this summer! It has always been my dream to become an Immunologist, and your donation allows me the capability to dig deep in my research over this summer and take a large step towards this dream. I'm excited to contribute in Immunology research and have an impact in this field.