Home Department: Engineering
Mentor: Kara Davis (Pediatrics - Hematology & Oncology)

“Investigating Mechanisms of Antigen Loss from CAR T-cell Therapy”

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of childhood leukemia by reprogramming T-lymphocytes to terminate antigen-expressing cancer cells. However, a significant subset of patients relapse following therapy due to antigen loss. Jodie’s project aims to describe how the expression of developmental proteins can alter leukemia-cell characteristics. To do so, she is performing reductions of gene expression on leukemia cell lines and quantifying changes over time through mass cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing. Following data collection and analysis, she will work with the lab to develop predictive models of patient responses to CAR-T cell therapy, providing a better understanding of how leukemia cells adapt to treatment over time.