Dr. Yang Zhao is developing a safer and more effective CAR-T therapy with a specific focus on treating solid tumors. While CAR-T therapy has transformed the treatment of many blood cancers, its effectiveness against solid tumors has been limited. The primary challenge lies in T cell exhaustion, where T cells become \u00abtired\u00bb and shift into a resting, unresponsive state upon encountering tumor cells, coupled with the limited survival of these T cells in a patient’s body. Although immune proteins called cytokines are being explored to enhance CAR-T therapy for solid tumors, these cytokines often have systemic toxicity due to their multifunctional nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Zhao proposes a novel approach to enhance T cells for cancer treatment. Her strategy involves using advanced synthetic cytokine receptors to precisely control the signaling of T cells. By employing a unique signaling molecule known as \u00aborthogonal\u00bb IL-2, she aims to craft specialized CAR-T cells with a customized receptor. The ultimate goal is to finely adjust the signaling in T cells, enhancing their effectiveness in treating solid tumors and challenging forms of leukemia. This innovative approach holds the promise of creating safer and more successful T cell therapies, ultimately improving outcomes for cancer patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Empowering adoptive T cell therapy with orthogonal cytokine receptors<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dr. Yang Zhao is developing a safer and more effective CAR-T therapy with a specific focus on treating solid tumors. While CAR-T therapy has transformed the treatment of many blood cancers, its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30932,"template":"","tax_cancer_type":[710],"tax_grant_type":[486],"tax_award_year":[480],"tax_institutions":[513],"tax_location_states":[501],"class_list":["post-30931","cri_scientists","type-cri_scientists","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"scientist_subhead":"CRI-Margaret Dammann Eisner Postdoctoral Fellow","quote":"","scientist_last_name":"Zhao","show_on_landing":false,"scientist_publish_until":"20270101"},"yoast_head":"\n