Project Grant R01CA300217

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a 5-year, $532,970 Project Grant (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The grant supports research to define the key cell-intrinsic features and cell interactions of anti-tumor CD4 T cells that promote anti-tumor immunity and enhance responses to PD-1 targeted immunotherapy.

Specifically, the research seeks to study the transcriptional programs and secreted factors in CD4-helper T cells that aid anti-tumor immune responses, how PD-1 signaling modulates tumor-specific CD4 T cells, and the CD4-helper interacting partners and their effects on tumor-specific CD8 T cells. The project will also investigate the contribution of B cells and antibodies, as well as the role of dendritic cell interactions with CD4 T cells, in modulating anti-tumor responses and enabling effective response to PD-1 targeted immunotherapy. The goal is to improve understanding of the critical interactions and signals that promote persistent T cell responses in the tumor microenvironment, which can inform the development of more effective cancer therapies.