Alex Kim

Program: Immunology

Current advisor: Carl DeSelm, MD, PhD

Undergraduate university: University of California-Berkeley, 2017

Enrollment year: 2019

Research summary
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) antigen presenting cells (APCs) for solid tumor immunotherapy

I am conducting my thesis work in the lab of Dr. Carl DeSelm. The lab focuses on developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based cellular immunotherapies for solid cancers. While CAR T cells have been shown to be both safe and effective in treating various hematologic malignancies, they have shown less effectiveness against solid cancers. Solid cancers can undermine the effectiveness of these therapies by creating an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment that prevents immune cell infiltration and diminishes effector function of those cells that do penetrate into the tumors. My project aims to create CAR-antigen presenting cells designed to provoke an endogenous anti-tumor immune response, which will complement existing immunotherapies (CAR T cells, checkpoint inhibitors etc) in the treatment of solid human cancers.

Graduate publications