CANCER HOST AND ENVIRONMENT

Grant funding: $2,569,545

Program Themes

• Biology and Mechanisms of Cancer and its Microenvironment

• Cancer Immunology, Stem Cells, and Vascularization

• Cancer Therapeutics and Supportive Care

Jonathan Boyson, Ph.D. Dr. Boyson received an R21 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to study how a group of proteins called SLAM family receptors regulate gamma delta T cells.

Gamma-delta (gd) T cells represent a small percentage of T cells in the body but they are an important part of our immune response in the lung, gut, and skin. Most gd T cells are programmed during development to secrete either interferon-gamma (IFN-g) or interleukin-17 (IL-17). IFN-g-producing gd T cells have potent anti-tumor activity while IL-17producing gd T cells can actually promote tumor growth and metastasis.

Understanding how to regulate the balance between these two types of gd T cells may lead to new immune-based treatments for cancer patients. Dr. Boyson studies a group of proteins called SLAM family receptors which seem to regulate this balance. In this project funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, Dr. Boyson uses a novel laboratory technique called single-cell proteogenomics to interrogate how SLAM proteins regulate gd T cells, with the ultimate goal of applying this knowledge toward the future use of gd T cells in cancer therapy.

PROGRAM CO-LEADERS: MAIJA REBLIN, PH.D.,(LEFT) ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, LARNER COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, AND BRIAN SPRAGUE, PH.D., (RIGHT) PROFESSOR, LARNER COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND DIRECTOR OF THE VERMONT BREAST CANCER SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM

SPOTLIGHT: HIGH-IMPACT PUBLICATIONS

Tobacco

Steve Higgins, Ph.D. Professor, College of Arts and Sciences

Quality Of Life

Nancy Gell, Ph.D., M.P.H. Associate Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences