T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a rare and aggressive blood cancer. Unlike many other cancers, T-ALL cells carry few genetic mutations, which makes them hard for the immune system to recognize and even harder to target with immunotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Gbolahan Bamgbose is exploring a new frontier: overlooked regions of our genome known as \u201cnovel open reading frames\u201d (nuORFs). These once-dismissed DNA segments can produce proteins, and recent discoveries suggest they may serve as potent triggers for immune responses. Dr. Bamgbose\u2019s project will investigate whether nuORF-derived peptides can activate the immune system against T-ALL and whether these proteins play a critical role in helping leukemia cells survive. If successful, this work could identify entirely new classes of therapeutic targets, not just for T-ALL, but for other hard-to-treat cancers with low mutation burdens. \u201cWe hope to pave the way for therapies that either engage the body\u2019s immune system or target these proteins,\u201d he says. Dr. Bamgbose\u2019s scientific journey began with exploring the medicinal properties of traditional Nigerian plants and expanded to uncovering treatments for parasitic diseases like ascariasis. For his PhD work, he transitioned to studying how genes are regulated during stress and development using Drosophila melanogaster<\/em> (the common fruit fly). Now focused on cancer immunology, Dr. Bamgbose aims to investigate how T-ALL evades immune detection and seeks to find overlooked vulnerabilities in the genome that could be harnessed for new therapeutic strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Birgit Knoechel, MD, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, T-cell response, low mutation burden<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The role of novel open reading frames in T-ALL immunogenicity and oncogenesis<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a rare and aggressive blood cancer. Unlike many other cancers, T-ALL cells carry few genetic mutations, which makes them hard for the immune system to recognize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":35549,"template":"","tax_cancer_type":[455],"tax_grant_type":[486],"tax_award_year":[742],"tax_institutions":[862],"tax_location_states":[863],"class_list":["post-35578","cri_scientists","type-cri_scientists","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"scientist_subhead":"CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow","quote":"","scientist_last_name":"Bamgbose","show_on_landing":true,"scientist_publish_until":"20280629"},"yoast_head":"\nSponsor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Research Focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Projects and Grants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n