In his project, Raphael Ferreira will develop the next generation of CAR T-cell therapy. CAT T-cell therapy is a type of cancer treatment where immune cells are drawn from the patient, genetically engineered in the lab to recognize and attack the patient's cancer cells and then reinfused to the patient. CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising results against blood cancer such as leukemia.
"I aim to scale the current process, so instead of modifying a single gene, we will modify ten or more genes safely, efficiently and controlled to enhance the cancer fighting cells to be able to battle solid tumours such as breast or lung cancer," Raphael Ferreira says.
First, the assistant professor will develop a platform to investigate which genetical changes are needed to improve the T-cells' ability to survive the hostile environment surrounding solid tumours and thus enhance their ability to fight the cancer.
"This grant is a major milestone in my career, it will support my transition from a postdoctoral position to establishing a lab and a research group of my own. I am looking forward to returning to Europe after having spent time in the US. If anyone is interested in pursuing a career in this area, please stay tuned, as I will be posting PhD scholarships and Postdoc positions soon."
Project title: Advancing Large-Scale Genome Engineering for Next-Generation Cell Therapy Screens
