Training in Tumor Immunology At The Ohio State University

 

  Study the immune system and how it fights cancer!

 The Ohio State T32 Training Program in Tumor Immunology is dedicated to the education of post-doctoral researchers in this area.

► Receive on-on-one instruction from an established investigator

► Tailor your coursework

► Learn about genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics

► Learn grant-writing and project management

► Travel to scientific meetings

Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen or green card holder and be willing to spend two years performing basic research in an immunology lab at The Ohio State University.

Women, minority and disabled applicants are especially encouraged to apply.

 

T32 Application Carson.fillable form.

Please email completed form to Ruthann.Norman@osumc.edu

Contact:  William.Carson@osumc.edu.

 

 

 

Meet A Few of the Mentors

 

Barbara L. Andersen, PhD

 

Dr. Andersen studies biobehavioral aspects of cancer and their implications for disease progression. Follow up work continues on the Stress and Immunity Breast Cancer Project, a randomized clinical trial of a psychological intervention to reduce stress, improve quality of life, health behaviors, and adherence for patients with breast cancer. Her long time collaborator on this research is Dr. William Carson. This trial demonstrated reduced risk for recurrence and cancer death for patients randomized to receive the intervention.

Andersen’s current work focuses on the development of interventions for patients at high risk for psychological or behavioral morbidities or premature cancer death. Intervention development projects for patients with gynecologic cancer, cancer recurrence, or patients with co morbid psychopathology are in progress.

Find Dr. Anderson’s publication list here.

 

 

 

Xue-feng Bai, MD, PhD

 

Dr. Bai’s laboratory studies the pathogenic mechanisms in immune-mediated diseases. They are particularly interested in T lymphocyte responses in autoimmune diseases and cancer. In autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, aberrant activation of T lymphocytes leads to their attack of the central nervous system (CNS).

Find Dr. Bai’s publication list here.

 

 

 

Robert Baiocchi, MD, PhD

 

Dr. Baiocchi’s laboratory program focuses on 3 major areas of research: (1) experimental therapeutics of lymphomas (epigenetics, antibodies, vaccine/immunotherapy); (2) mechanisms of Epstein-Barr virus driven B cell transformation; and (3) clinical research involving new methods to treat immune deficient (HIV/AIDS, post transplantation) who develop cancer.

Find Dr. Baiocchi’s publication list here.

 

 

 

Ginny Bumgardner, MD, PhD

Dr. Bumgardner’s research focuses on transplant immunology, with particular interest in pancreatic and kidney transplants.

Find Dr. Bumgardner’s publication list here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

William E. Carson, III, MD

 

The Carson laboratory focuses our research on three main areas.

The use of cytokines either alone or in combination with targeted agents to treat malignant melanoma tumors. The Carson lab is interested in the mechanism of interferon-alpha and ways to enhance its antitumor actions. Targeted agents of interest to our group include proteasome inhibitors, antiangiogenic agents such as bevacizumab, and several tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Notably, many of these agents display synergistic antitumor activity when combined with immune-based treatments.

The use of cytokines to enhance the actions of antitumor monoclonal antibodies (mAb). We have observed that co-administration of IL-12 can potentiate the antitumor actions of an anti-HER2/neu mAb (trastuzumab or Herceptin) that is used to treat patients with HER2/neu-expressing breast cancers. This data has served as the basis for several NCI-sponsored phase I clinical trials that employ mAbs in combination with IL-12. Recent work from our lab indicates that other immune stimulatory agents may be able to augment the immune response to antitumor mAbs. Agents that are under investigation include toll-like receptor agonists and novel cytokines such as IL-21.

The effects of stress on the immune system of patients diagnosed with cancer. We hypothesize that stress can significantly inhibit the host immune response in the setting of cancer and have discovered that natural killer (NK) cell function provides an important “window” into this process. We are collaborating with Barbara Andersen, PhD, in the Department of Psychology, who is investigating the effects of behavioral and psychological interventions on the immune function of women with stage II and III breast cancer. Our goal is to define the mechanisms that underlie the altered immune response of cancer patients and explore ways to reverse this inhibition to enhance the effects of immune-based therapies.

Our laboratory is well suited for the physician-scientist in training or postdoctoral researcher interested in discovery for the sake of clinical application.

Find Dr. Carson’s publication list here.

 

 

 

Denis Guttridge, PhD

 

Dr. Guttridge’s laboratory studies the NF-kB family of transcription factors and the role they play in cell growth and differentiation.  Aside from NF-kB’s more recognizable role in regulating immune response, strong evidence suggests that the NF-kB signaling pathway is also involved in tumor progression. However, exactly how NF-kB functions in cellular transformation has not been resolved. To further understand this disease property of NF-kB, my laboratory is using skeletal muscle as a model of cellular growth and differentiation. Skeletal muscle maturation involves growth arrest and fusion of progenitor myoblasts into terminally differentiated myofibers. These cells also have the tremendous capacity to undergo regeneration in response to injury. Under those conditions, NF-kB is activated and contributes to muscle repair by inhibiting the differentiation program. This function is most likely required to insure that myoblasts do not undergo premature differentiation. Our group has also expanded studies using in vivo models of muscle regeneration, where results support the notion that NF-kB functions in skeletal muscle to limit it’s regenerative potential. We believe this function of NF-kB may be relevant in muscle diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and cancer conditions including cachexia and rhabdomyosarcoma. The long-term goal is to not only better dissect the function and mechanisms by which NF-kB regulates muscle differentiation associated with muscle disorders, but to also determine whether NF-kB can be targeted therapeutically for the treatment of these diseases.

Find Dr. Guttridge’s publication list here.

 

 

 

 

Matthew Ringel, MD

Dr. Ringel’s research interests include molecular mechanisms involved in thyroid cancer invasion and metastasis; with an active interest in new drug testing for thyroid cancer therapy.

Find Dr. Ringel’s publication list here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susheela Tridandapani, PhD

 

Dr. Susheela Tridandapani is a Professor of Internal Medicine, Vice Chair for Fundamental Research and Director for Research for Center for Faculty Advancement, Mentoring and Engagement (FAME).  Dr. Tridandapani has a fully funded (NIAID, NCI) research program examining the molecular mechanisms of innate immune responses to IgG-immune complexes, particularly in the context of monoclonal antibody therapy for cancer.

Find Dr. Tridandapani’s publication list here.