Advancing immunotherapy for ovarian cancer
Dr. Curtis' Immunometabolism and Cancer Immunology Lab is driven to find better treatments for ovarian cancer and improve patient outcomes. The lab develops innovative immunotherapies by translating patient‑derived discoveries into next‑generation immunotherapies.
Overview
The Immunometabolism and Cancer Immunology Laboratory of Marion R. Curtis, Ph.D., is a reverse-translational research and clinical program. The lab focuses on developing next-generation immunotherapies for ovarian cancer.
Driven by the urgent need to improve outcomes in advanced-stage disease, the lab integrates primary human tumor samples, organoid models and clinical trials to uncover mechanisms of immune resistance and translate these insights into new treatments. Ongoing work includes:
- Engineering metabolically resilient chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy and CAR-macrophage therapy.
- Identifying combination strategies to enhance checkpoint blockade.
- Discovering tumor antigens through immunopeptidomics.
This research is directly linked to patient care, including a phase 1 clinical trial of MUC1-targeted autologous T cells. The goal is to deliver durable, antigen-driven immune responses for patients with ovarian cancer.