Shivani Srivastava, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

CAR T cell therapies have proven remarkably successful for patients with advanced blood cancers but have been less effective against solid tumors like breast and lung cancer. Dr. Srivastava seeks to change that. To better understand the challenges of treating solid tumors with CAR T cells, she has developed a lung cancer model that accurately replicates the initiation, progression, and therapeutic response of human lung cancer. She is using this model to study the effectiveness of CAR T cells designed to target the tumor-associated antigen ROR1 and identify the major immunosuppressive mechanisms that interfere with anti-tumor activity. Furthermore, she will use this model to test whether CAR T cells’ effectiveness can be enhanced when used in combination with checkpoint immunotherapy or other treatments that target the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Projects and Grants