Anti-tumor T cell response and tumor antigen processing

Description of projects available to graduate students:
Dr. Ferris's lab is applying enhanced tumor antigen processing and presentation to improve T cell recognition of head and neck cancer, as part of his Head and Neck SPORE grant (NCI P50 CA097190), “Wild-type p53 based adjuvant immunotherapy for HNC.” We are particularly interested in the immune response and processing/presentation of p53 and human papillomavirus (HPV) peptides to antinge-specific T cells. The lab is elucidating the T lymphocyte response to HPV E7 protein as well as mechanisms for immune evasion in HNC patients, despite the presence of these anti-tumor, HPV-specific T cells in the circulation. One of these mechanisms, downregulation of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and antigen processing machinery (APM) proteins, which are crucial for tumor antigen recognition and lysis by tumor-specific T cells (through NCI R01 grant CA110249).

Techniques graduate student will learn:
Multi-color, intracellular flow cytometry, T cell culture and stimulation, plasmid construction and assay of transfectants