This team comprises investigators with a diverse range of expertise in clinical oncology, sophisticated animal tumor models, mouse and human tumor-derived organoids, tumor-specific immune responses, microbiota-immune system interactions, and computational analysis of multiomic datasets in order to model tumor evolution and tumor antigen recognition. The Team seeks to advance the understanding of tumor-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors that contribute to the dynamic interactions between immune system cells and cells in the tumor microenvironment which consequentially influence tumor evolution and potential for metastasis. Their goal is to identify tumor vulnerabilities and new molecular and cellular targets that can be validated in preclinical models and then applied to clinical practice.

This team has plans towards: the (1) development of patient-derived and preclinical model-derived tumor organoids into which immune system cells and microbial entities or their products can be incorporated; (2) spatial and temporal characterization of tumors and organoids at the single cell level, encompassing spatially resolved mRNAs, proteins and metabolites; (3) isolation and characterization of commensal bacterial strains and products that impact immune cells in the tumor microenvironment; and (4) use of advanced proteomics tools to study tumor and microenvironmental (including microbial) features that contribute to metastasis potential and response to immune checkpoint blockade. Advanced computational and mathematical modeling tools will be utilized and further developed to generate new hypotheses that can then be investigated in diverse biological systems.