Dr. Blaisdell is studying how to restore the tumor-killing capacity of exhausted CD8 T cells, a major barrier to successful cancer immunotherapy. His work focuses on perforin, a protein that immune cells use to punch holes in cancer cells and trigger their destruction. In many tumors, chronic stimulation causes T cells to lose this cytotoxic(killing) function. Dr. Blaisdell aims to identify the pathways that suppress perforin release and develop strategies to preserve or restore killing activity, potentially improving immunotherapy efficacy.
Dr. Blaisdell is a physician-scientist whose clinical practice focuses on caring for patients experiencing immune-related side effects from cancer immunotherapies, giving him a unique perspective on how to improve treatment effectiveness and safety. He completed his MD/PhD training at New York University and is now a postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, with funding from a CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Mentor
Averil Ma, MD
Projects and Grants
Enhancing perforin-dependent anti-tumor immunity by exhausted CD8 T cells
A20 in cancer immunity and regulation of CD8 T cell function and fate
University of California, San Francisco | Fellowship | All Cancers | 2023
