Pamela Wong

Program: Immunology

Current advisor: Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD

Undergraduate university: Emory University, 2017

Enrollment year: 2017

Research summary
NK Cell Biology

The T-box transcription factors T-bet and Eomes are critical for the development of NK cells, however their requirement in mature NK cells is not known. My research focuses on the roles T-bet and Eomes play in mature human NK cells using conditional Knockout mouse models as well as CRISPR-Cas9 editing of primary human NK cells.

Graduate publications
Shrestha N, Chaturvedi P, Zhu X, Dee MJ, George V, Janney C, Egan JO, Liu B, Foster M, Marsala L, Wong P, Cubitt CC, Foltz JA, Tran J, Schappe T, Hsiao K, Leclerc GM, You L, Echeverri C, Spanoudis C, Carvalho A, Kanakaraj L, Gilkes C, Encalada N, Kong L, Wang M, Fang B, Wang Z, Jiao JA, Muniz GJ, Jeng EK, Valdivieso N, Li L, Deth R, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA, Rhode PR, Wong HC. 2023 Immunotherapeutic approach to reduce senescent cells and alleviate senescence-associated secretory phenotype in mice. Aging Cell, 22(5):e13806. PMCID: PMC10186597

Wong P, Foltz JA, Chang L, Neal CC, Yao T, Cubitt CC, Tran J, Kersting-Schadek S, Palakurty SX, Jaeger N, Russler-Germain DA, Marin ND, Gang M, Wagner JA, Zhou AY, Jacobs MT, Foster M, Schappe T, Marsala L, McClain E, Pence P, Becker-Hapak M, Fisk B, Petti AA, Griffith OL, Griffith M, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA. 2023 T-BET and EOMES sustain mature human NK cell identity and anti-tumor function. J Clin Invest, 133(13)::e162530. PMCID: PMC10313375

Cubitt CC, McClain E, Becker-Hapak M, Foltz JA, Wong P, Wagner JA, Neal CC, Marin ND, Marsala L, Foster M, Schappe T, Soon-Shiong P, Lee J, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA. 2022 A novel fusion protein scaffold 18/12/TxM activates the IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 receptors to induce human memory-like natural killer cells. Mol Ther Oncolytics, 24():585-96. PMCID: PMC8889352

Kerbauy LN, Marin ND, Kaplan M, Banerjee PP, Berrien-Elliott MM, Becker-Hapak M, Basar R, Foster M, Garcia Melo L, Neal CC, McClain E, Daher M, Nunez Cortes AK, Desai S, Inng Lim FW, Mendt MC, Schappe T, Li L, Shaim H, Shanley M, Ensley EL, Uprety N, Wong P, Liu E, Ang SO, Cai R, Nandivada V, Mohanty V, Miao Q, Shen Y, Baran N, Fowlkes NW, Chen K, Muniz-Feliciano L, Champlin RE, Nieto YL, Koch J, Treder M, Fischer W, Okamoto OK, Shpall EJ, Fehniger TA, Rezvani K. 2022 Combining AFM13, a Bispecific CD30/CD16 Antibody, with Cytokine-Activated Blood and Cord Blood-Derived NK Cells Facilitates CAR-like Responses Against CD30 + Malignancies. Clin Cancer Res, 27(13):3744-56. PMCID: PMC8254785

Berrien-Elliott MM, Foltz JA, Russler-Germain DA, Neal CC, Tran J, Gang M, Wong P, Fisk B, Cubitt CC, Marin ND, Zhou AY, Jacobs MT, Foster M, Schappe T, McClain E, Kersting-Schadek S, Desai S, Pence P, Becker-Hapak M, Eisele J, Mosior M, Marsala L, Griffith OL, Griffith M, Khan SM, Spencer DH, DiPersio JF, Romee R, Uy GL, Abboud CN, Ghobadi A, Westervelt P, Stockerl-Goldstein K, Schroeder MA, Wan F, Lie WR, Soon-Shiong P, Petti AA, Cashen AF, Fehniger TA. 2022 Hematopoietic cell transplantation donor-derived memory-like NK cells functionally persist after transfer into patients with leukemia. Sci Transl Med, 14(633):eabm1375. PMCID: PMC9210521

Bednarski JJ, Zimmerman C, Berrien-Elliott MM, Foltz JA, Becker-Hapak M, Neal CC, Foster M, Schappe T, McClain E, Pence PP, Desai S, Kersting-Schadek S, Wong P, Russler-Germain DA, Fisk B, Lie WR, Eisele J, Hyde S, Bhatt ST, Griffith OL, Griffith M, Petti AA, Cashen AF, Fehniger TA. 2022 Donor memory-like NK cells persist and induce remissions in pediatric patients with relapsed AML after transplant. Blood, 139(11):1670-83. PMCID: PMC8931511

Berrien-Elliott MM, Becker-Hapak M, Cashen AF, Jacobs M, Wong P, Foster M, McClain E, Desai S, Pence P, Cooley S, Brunstein C, Gao F, Abboud CN, Uy GL, Westervelt P, Jacoby MA, Pusic I, Stockerl-Goldstein KE, Schroeder MA, DiPersio JF, Soon-Shiong P, Miller JS, Fehniger TA. 2022 Systemic IL-15 promotes allogeneic cell rejection in patients treated with natural killer cell adoptive therapy. Blood, 139(8):1177-83. PMCID: PMC9211446

Wong P, Wagner JA, Berrien-Elliott MM, Schappe T, Fehniger TA. 2021 Flow cytometry-based ex vivo murine NK cell cytotoxicity assay. STAR Protocols, 2(1):100262. PMCID: PMC7806516

Kerbauy LN, Marin ND, Kaplan M, Banerjee PP, Berrien-Elliott MM, Becker-Hapak MK, Basar R, Foster M, Garcia Melo L, Neal CC, McClain E, Daher M, Nunez Cortes AK, Desai S, Inng Lim FW, Mendt MC, Schappe T, Li L, Shaim H, Shanley M, Ensley EL, Uprety N, Wong P, Liu E, Ang SO, Cai R, Nandivada V, Mohanty V, Miao Q, Shen Y, Baran N, Fowlkes NW, Chen K, Muniz-Feliciano L, Champlin RE, Nieto YL, Koch J, Treder M, Fischer W, Okamoto OK, Shpall EJ, Fehniger TA, Rezvani K. 2021 Combining AFM13, a bispecific CD30/CD16 antibody, with cytokine-activated cord blood-derived NK cells facilitates CAR-like responses against CD30+ malignancies. Clin Cancer Res, ():clincanres.0164.2021. PMCID:

Marin ND, Krasnick BA, Becker-Hapak M, Conant L, Goedegebuure SP, Berrien-Elliott MM, Robbins KJ, Foltz JA, Foster M, Wong P, Cubitt CC, Tran J, Wetzel CB, Jacobs M, Zhou A, Russler-Germain D, Marsala L, Schappe T, Fields RC, Fehniger TA. 2021 Memory-like differentiation enhances NK cell responses to melanoma. Clin Cancer Res, 27(17):4859-69. PMCID: PMC8416927

Becker-Hapak MK, Shrestha N, McClain E, Dee MJ, Chaturvedi P, Leclerc GM, Marsala LI, Foster M, Schappe T, Tran J, Desai S, Neal CC, Pence P, Wong P, Wagner JA, Russler-Germain D, Zhu X, Spanoudis CM, Gallo VL, Echeverri CA, Ramirez LL, You L, Egan JO, Rhode PR, Jiao JA, Muniz GJ, Jeng EK, Prendes CA, Sullivan RP, Berrien-Elliott MM, Wong HC, Fehniger TA. 2021 A fusion protein complex that combines IL12, IL15, and IL18 signaling to induce memory-like NK cells for cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Immunol Res, 9(9):1071-87. PMCID: PMC8416787

Gang M, Marin ND, Wong P, Neal CC, Marsala L, Foster M, Schappe T, Meng W, Tran J, Schaettler M, Davila ML, Gao F, Cashen AF, Bartlett NL, Mehta-Shah N, Kahl B, Kim M, Cooper ML, DiPersio JF, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA. 2020 CAR-modified memory-like NK cells exhibit potent responses to NK-resistant lymphomas. Blood, 136(20):2308-2318. PMCID: PMC7702478

Wagner JA, Wong P, Schappe T, Berrien-Elliott MM, Cubitt C, Jaeger N, Lee M, Keppel CR, Marin ND, Foltz JA, Marsala L, Neal CC, Sullivan RP, Schneider SE, Keppel MP, Saucier N, Cooper MA, Fehniger TA. 2020 Stage-Specific Requirement for Eomes in Mature NK Cell Homeostasis and Cytotoxicity. Cell Rep, 31(9):107720. PMCID: PMC7265846

Berrien-Elliott MM, Cashen AF, Cubitt CC, Neal CC, Wong P, Wagner JA, Foster M, Schappe T, Desai S, McClain E, Becker-Hapak M, Foltz JA, Cooper ML, Jaeger N, Nonavinkere Srivatsan S, Gao F, Romee R, Abboud CN, Uy GL, Westervelt P, Jacoby MA, Pusic I, Stockerl-Goldstein KE, Schroeder MA, DiPersio J, Fehniger TA. 2020 Multidimensional analyses of donor memory-like NK cells reveal new associations with response after adoptive immunotherapy for leukemia. Cancer Discov, 10(12):1854-1871. PMCID: PMC7710923

Gang M, Wong P, Berrien-Elliott MM, Fehniger TA. 2020 Memory-like natural killer cells for cancer immunotherapy. Semin Hematol, 57(4):185-93. PMCID:

Berrien-Elliott MM, Sun Y, Neal C, Ireland A, Trissal MC, Sullivan RP, Wagner JA, Leong JW, Wong P, Mah-Som AY, Wong TN, Schappe T, Keppel CR, Cortez VS, Stamatiades EG, Li MO, Colonna M, Link DC, French AR, Cooper MA, Wang WL, Boldin MP, Reddy P, Fehniger TA. 2019 MicroRNA-142 Is Critical for the Homeostasis and Function of Type 1 Innate Lymphoid Cells.. Immunity, 51(3):479-490.e6. PMCID: PMC6750984

Gubin MM, Esaulova E, Ward JP, Malkova ON, Runci D, Wong P, Noguchi T, Arthur CD, Meng W, Alspach E, Medrano RFV, Fronick C, Fehlings M, Newell EW, Fulton RS, Sheehan KCF, Oh ST, Schreiber RD, Artyomov MN. 2018 High-Dimensional Analysis Delineates Myeloid and Lymphoid Compartment Remodeling during Successful Immune-Checkpoint Cancer Therapy. Cell, ():pii: S0092-8674(18)31242-X. PMCID: