Cara Haymaker

Defining the tumor immune microenvironment in rare solid tumors such as malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and sarcoma where responses to immunotherapy strategies are lacking. Theme 1 is focused on investigating ways to modulate intratumoral antigen presenting cells (APCs), specifically dendritic cells, to improve antigen presentation and costimulation to tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). This involves deeply assessing the immune landscape in MPM, identifying dendritic cell subsets and associated TIL populations and directly assessing receptor-ligand interactions through spatial profiling and single cell sequencing. Theme 2 is focused on defining the anti-tumor T cell responses in MPM and sarcoma. This theme utilizes TIL expansion to provide an in vitro model system to directly assess TIL cytotoxicity, polyfunctionality, anti-tumor function and identification of anti-tumor TCRs and underlying mechanisms driving T cell dysfunction such as altered metabolic states.