Ovarian cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers for women, in part because many tumors are “immune silent” —they exclude or suppress immune cells that could help control disease or respond to immunotherapy. Increasing evidence shows that stromal cells surrounding the tumor strongly influence whether immune cells can enter, survive, and function. Dr. Jiayu Ye is focused on a key unanswered question: How do mesothelial cells—the barrier cells lining the peritoneal cavity—shape immune responses in ovarian cancer, and can target them restore anti-tumor Immunity?
Dr. Ye’s preliminary research points to mesothelial cells as powerful but underappreciated regulators of the ovarian cancer immune microenvironment. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, she found that cancer-associated mesothelial cells communicate extensively with T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, and adopt immune-regulatory states that differ by location—ovary, peritoneum, and omentum. These cells also undergo mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, potentially giving rise to antigen-presenting cancer-associated fibroblasts known to influence T cell activity and lymphoid structure formation. Her project will define how mesothelial cells evolve during tumor progression and metastasis using longitudinal single-cell and spatial transcriptomics. She will then apply in vivo CRISPR-based screens to uncover genes that control their immune-modulatory behavior and test whether targeting these pathways can improve immune infiltration and slow disease.
Dr. Ye brings deep expertise in stromal biology, single-cell genomics, and tumor immunology, including her discovery of senescent fibroblasts as drivers of breast cancer immunosuppression. By uncovering how mesothelial cells act as immunological gatekeepers in ovarian cancer, her work could reveal new stromal targets to overcome immune exclusion and enhance patient responses to immunotherapy—helping shift historically immune-silent tumors toward more treatable, immunologically engaged states.
Sponsor
Ansuman Satpathy, MD, PhD
Projects and Grants
Leveraging Multimodal Transcriptomics to Uncover the Role of Mesothelial Cells in Ovarian Cancer Progression and Immunosurveillance
