Kai Kun Xie, PhD, CRI Immuno-Informatics Fellow Weizmann Institute of Science Area of Research: All Cancers Dr. Kai Kun Xie is studying the tumor’s microenvironment. To develop effective immunotherapies for more types of cancers, a fuller understanding of the complexity of cellular interactions within the tumor bed is necessary. Dr. Xie is investigating how immune cells that infiltrate a tumor become suppressive over time. One immune cell type of interest is the tumor-associated macrophage, which is known to support tumor growth by interacting with and exhausting cytotoxic T cells, making T cell-targeting immunotherapy less effective. Dr. Xie plans to use advanced technologies to look at the dynamics of individual cells within tumors. He aims to find new biomarkers, pathways, and checkpoints specific to the tumor’s immune response. This information could lead to the development of better immunotherapy treatments and improve how we predict treatment response and monitor disease progression. Projects and Grants Developing novel technologies for measuring dynamics of immunosuppression in space and time for development of the next generation of cancer immunotherapy
