PICI Network Researchers to Present on Cellular Therapies at Keystone Symposia

Ten investigators from the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Network will discuss cellular immunotherapies for hematological malignancies and solid tumors, at the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Jan. 29-Feb. 2 in Banff, Alberta.

The conference, titled “Emerging Cellular Therapies at the Forefront of Cancer Immunotherapy,” incorporates broad expertise, aiming to propose an integrated path toward successful implementation of novel cellular therapeutics, particularly for solid tumors.

PICI Network member Lisa Butterfield, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco is one of four scientific organizers of the conference. Crystal Mackall, MD, (Twitter: @MackallLab) director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Stanford Medicine, will deliver the conference welcome and keynote address, “CAR T Cells for Solid Tumors,” on Jan. 30.

Below are other sessions featuring PICI Network investigators. Please note that all events listed are subject to change. For the most current information, visit the conference program. Follow the meeting live on Twitter using the hashtag #KSCellTherapy23.

Jan. 30

Session: T-Cell Factors Affecting the Potency of Cancer Immunotherapies

Presenter: Zachary Steinhart, PhD, (Twitter: @CrisprEh) Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology
Presentation: Genome-wide CRISPR Activation and Interference Screens Discover Key Drivers of Primary Human T Cell Function

Jan. 31

Session: Conditional Reprogramming of CAR T-Cells

Presenter: Daniel Powell Jr., PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Presentation: Inducible Programming of CAR T cell Function and Intrinsic Properties for Cancer Immunotherapy

Presenter: Robbie Majzner, MD, (Twitter: @Majzner_Lab), Stanford Medicine
Presentation: Co-opting T Cell Signaling Networks for Enhanced CAR T Cell Specificity and Efficacy

Session: Improving Expansion and Persistence Adoptive T-Cell Therapies

Presenter: Justin Eyquem, PhD, (Twitter: @J_Eyquem), University of California, San Francisco
Presentation: Modification of CAR Signaling Domain

Presenter: Yvonne Chen, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Presentation: Engineering Next-Generation CAR-T Cell Therapy for Cancer

Feb. 1

Session: Cell Trafficking and Modulating the Tumor Microenvironment

Presenter: Christopher Klebanoff, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Presentation: Targeting Solid Malignancies With Patient-Derived ‘Public’ Neoantigen TCRs

Session: Engineering Improved T-Cells

Presenter: Kole Roybal, PhD, (Twitter: @KoleRoybal) University of California, San Francisco
Presentation: Engineering T-Cells to Express Receptors Targeting Multiple Antigens

Feb. 2

Session: Novel Targets and the Role of Endogenous Antigen Presentation 

Presenter: Catherine Wu, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Presentation: T-Cell Therapy using Neoantigen Reactive TCRs

Presenter: Lisa Butterfield, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco
Presentation: Critical Aspects of DC Metabolism