The Washington University LLS SCOR is a highly translational, interdisciplinary research program that focuses on improving clinical outcomes for patients with lymphoma or leukemia that are unlikely to be cured with currently available treatments.
The SCOR comprises 3 projects
- Project 1: Engineered CAR augmented memory-like NK cell therapy for B cell lymphomas
- Aim 1. We will advance and validate a rapid CAR NK cell manufacturing method using allo donor and patient cell sources.
- Aim 2. Define the impact of IL-2/15R-based strategies to promote CAR NK cell expansion and persistence in vivo.
- Aim 3. Advance a phase 1 clinical trial testing auto vs. allo CAR NK cellular therapy with optimized cytokine support and dual targeting with anti-CD20 mAbs for rel/ref B NHL.
- Project 2: Allogeneic CD7 targeting universal CAR T cells as blood cancer immunotherapy
- Aim 1. To evaluate the safety of UCART7 in patients with CD7+ AML or T-NHL (NCT05377827).
- Aim 2. To enhance the persistence, immune evasion, and anti-tumor efficacy of allogeneic CART cells using xenogeneic and immunocompetent mouse models of AML and T-NHL
- Project 3: Neoantigen targeted immunotherapy for follicular lymphoma
- Specific Aim 1: Compare SLP-, DNA and RNA A20 neoAg vaccines and optimize dose and schedule of immune checkpoint therapy to induce A20 rejection in mice
- Specific Aim 2: Define the MHC-I and MHC-II neoAgs expressed by novel mouse FL cell lines and compare therapeutic efficacies of optimized SLP-, DNA-, and RNA-vaccines (plus or minus ICT) in inducing therapeutic FL rejection in mice
- Specific Aim 3: Leverage the optimized vaccine approach and ICT strategy from the work performed in Aims 1 and 2 to design and initiate a personalized neoAg-based clinical trial in FL patients
