Ari Glasner, PhD, Senior Lecturer

Our lab studies innate and adaptive host immune cell biology, function and interactions in homeostatic as well as in pathological conditions. Such as in the Tumor microenvironment (TME).

Cancer cells are constantly monitored and eliminated by immune cells, to keep tumors in check throughout an organism’s lifespan. However, tumors have developed various mechanisms to evade immune surveillance. State-of-the-art immunotherapies interfere with these mechanisms to facilitate immune cell-mediated eradication of tumor cells.

However, while successful for some patients and certain types of cancer, immunotherapy efficacy is still limited. To improve treatments and overcome tumor evasion mechanisms, it is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of immune-tumor interactions.

We aim to comprehensively map the entire spectrum of interactions between immunocytes and the TME, which plays a crucial role in supporting the tumor, by identifying negative and positive tumor regulator programs, studying localization mediated effects, and mapping the genetic and epigenetic mediators that take part in the immune-TME interplay. We will test potential candidates for targeted combination therapy in-vivo, and in a tumor slice culture system that allows testing in parallel mouse and human fresh tissues to uncover pro- and anti-tumor molecular mechanisms that could inform the creation of more effective combination immunotherapies