Research

The Cellular Therapy Discovery and Translation Program creates new cell-based treatments and brings them to patients as quickly as possible. Our research spans the full process, from early discovery in the lab to testing new therapies in clinical trials. By combining science, medicine and advanced manufacturing, we aim to develop safe, effective treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases and transplant-related conditions.

Our work is organized around three main areas:

  • Discovery.
  • Biomanufacturing.
  • Clinical translation.

Together, these efforts help ensure that new therapies can be developed, produced and delivered to patients efficiently.

Cell therapy discovery platforms

Our cell therapy discovery platforms are focused on identifying and designing new cell-based treatments. We are developing new ways to engineer and improve immune cells so they can better target disease. We study how immune cells work and apply genetic engineering techniques to enhance their ability to recognize and attack harmful cells. The goal of this research is to create a strong pipeline of new and improved cell therapies that can move into clinical testing. These advances may lead to more-effective and widely available treatments, especially for patients who currently have limited options.

Key research topics:

  • Allogeneic CAR-T platform development. We are developing CAR-T therapies made from donor cells, which may allow treatments to be available to more patients without needing to create a custom therapy for each person.
  • Novel T-cell selection. Our researchers are identifying better ways to select and prepare T cells to increase the effectiveness and consistency of therapies.
  • Gene editing and T-cell engineering expansion. We are building expertise and recruiting specialists to advance the design of next-generation cell therapies.
  • Dendritic cell vaccines for cancer treatment and prevention. We are developing innovative dendritic cell vaccines designed to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate ovarian cancer. This approach uses a patient's own immune cells, which are programmed in the laboratory to stimulate powerful immune responses associated with improved survival for patients with ovarian or breast cancer. These specialized dendritic cells teach T cells to recognize tumor proteins, generate durable anticancer immunity and overcome immune suppression within tumors. Through ongoing clinical trials, the goal is to develop safe and effective vaccine strategies that prevent cancer recurrence or enhance responses to other immunotherapies.

Biomanufacturing

A second area of focus centers on producing cell therapies safely and at larger scale. Because cellular therapies are complex and personalized, specialized processes are required to produce them for clinical use. We are developing the systems and facilities needed to manufacture these therapies consistently and efficiently. This work ensures that promising therapies can be produced reliably and made available for clinical trials and future patient care, increasing access to advanced therapies and reducing delays in treatment.

Key research topics:

  • Cell therapy manufacturing capabilities. Our experts are building the capacity to handle a growing number and variety of cell therapy products.
  • Clean room specialization. Clean rooms provide the dedicated environment required to safely engineer cell therapies.

Clinical translation and early-phase trials

Research in this area focuses on testing new cell therapies in clinical trials, especially early-phase studies, also called phase 1 studies. We are evaluating the safety of new treatments and beginning to understand how well the treatments work in patients. The goal of this work is to accelerate the safe introduction of new therapies into clinical care, improving access to innovative therapies and helping bring new treatment options closer to routine clinical use.

Key research topics include:

  • BAFF-R targeted cell therapy trials. We are advancing a novel therapy called BAFF-R targeted cell therapy into clinical testing, with multiple patients already enrolled.
  • CAR-T for transplant preparation. Our experts are pioneering the use of CAR-T cell therapy to help prepare patients for kidney transplantation by reducing immune rejection risk.
  • Allogeneic CAR-T trial for autoimmune disease. We are launching a clinical trial to explore new treatment options for autoimmune diseases.
  • In vivo CAR-T clinical trial participation. Our program has been selected as a site for a multicenter phase 1 trial testing CAR-T cell therapy delivered directly in the body.

Translation, collaboration and commercialization

We are expanding access to breakthrough cell therapies through collaboration across Mayo Clinic, at other leading healthcare institutions and with industry. These collaborations can speed up the development process and expand access to new treatments beyond Mayo's walls. Strategic development, scaling and distribution bring new therapies to more patients, faster.

Key research topics:

  • BAFF-R therapy licensing agreement. We have licensed our novel BAFF-R therapy to an industry partner to support further development and broader availability.
  • Dendritic cell vaccine collaboration. Collaborative planning and research to advance additional immune-based therapies is ongoing.