Melanoma is a skin cancer whose incidence has risen by 27% annually over the past decade. While immunotherapy has revolutionized melanoma treatment, many melanomas, particularly those that are “cold”, or treatment-resistant, fail to respond to current therapies. Dr. Filipe Pereira’s research focuses on novel strategies to overcome resistance in these cold tumors and enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy.
Dr. Pereira’s approach relies on tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), which are specialized immune cell clusters that form within tumors and act as local immune centers. His team recently developed a novel mechanism by which to create TLS – by reprogramming cancer cells into dendritic cells – and changed “cold” tumors into “hot” tumors that were more responsive to immunotherapy.
In this project, Dr. Pereira’s team will investigate whether this reprogramming strengthens anti-tumor immunity and promotes TLS formation as well as identify the key cell types and molecular signals involved in TLS development. His long-term goal is to develop a dual-action gene therapy that combines immune cell activation with immune center coordination to shift the balance in favor of the immune system’s fight against cancer.
Research Focus
Melanoma, gene therapy, “cold” tumors
Projects and Grants
Engineering synthetic tertiary lymphoid structures in melanoma with dendritic cell reprogramming
