Traditionally, researchers have investigated the impact of aberrant inflammation on the development of autoimmune disorders. We now appreciate that this concept spreads beyond autoimmunity. Inflammation that has been misregulated can affect how we respond to pathogenic challenge as well as cancer surveillance. My research efforts have focused on identifying ways to modulate both beneficial and detrimental inflammation to treat various immune disorders and cancer. We are currently developing molecular therapeutic compounds to control unresolved inflammation that can lead to autoimmunity. Additionally, we are utilizing several immunotherapy approaches (vaccines, oncolytic viruses and immune checkpoint molecules) to elicit anti-tumor responses in immunologically cold tumors, in order to uncover mechanisms of immune resistance in tumors. We combine our pre-clinical studies with ongoing clinical work to best address current clinical needs across different disease types.
