Session Abstract – PMWC 2019 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Immunotherapy has shown success in a wide variety of cancers, including many solid tumors. However, there are some unique features of hematologic malignancies that makes these cancers well poised as targets of immunotherapy. This session will focus on various strategies of immunotherapies in the treatment of hematologic malignancies in which there have been accelerating development.
Session Chair Profile
Ph.D., Instructor, Stanford University
Biography
Idit is an Instructor of Medicine at the Immunology/Oncology department at Stanford University, under the supervision of Prof. Ronald Levy. Idit focuses on finding ways to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight and eradicate cancer cells. Idit’s research on delivery of local treatment to cancer that triggers a systemic immune response, provided ground breaking results that are currently the basis of several clinical trials. Idit earned her B.Sc. in Life Sciences from and M.Sc. and Ph.D in Structural and Molecular Biochemistry, under the supervision of Prof. Alexander Levitzki at the Hebrew University Jerusalem.
Talk
In situ Vaccination as a Powerful Immunotherapy
In situ vaccination with CpG (a TLR9 agonist) and anti-OX40 agonistic antibody leads to systemic anti-tumor responses in multiple pre-clinical mouse models and is evaluated now in phase 1 clinical trial.
Speaker Profile
M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Stanford University
Biography
Dr. Miklos is a physician-scientist who has established a human translational immunology research group that fosters the development of both laboratory immunologists, and clinical translational researchers. His laboratory research focuses on 1) B cell reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) 2) Lymphoid neoplasia minimal residual disease (MRD) quantification using Immune receptor high throughput sequencing technology 3) Prevention and treatment of chronic Graft versus host disease (cGVHD) and 4) CAR-T Cancer Cell Therapies. With his promotion to Associate Professor Spring 2016, he became Clinical Director of Stanford’s Cancer Immunotherapy program and Stanford’s Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI). These aligned Immunotherapy clinical research groups focus on implementing human Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapies (CAR-T), developing comprehensive clinical databases with linked biorepositories from industry sponsored and investigator initiated clinical trials. Dr. Crystal Mackall directs Stanford’s Center for Cancer Cell Therapy. Drs. Mackall and Miklos are two proven physician-scientists that synergize skills as pediatrician and adult oncologist that combine lab and clinical expertise daily. We have leveraged our comprehensive and established BMT program to provide Cancer Cell Therapy (CCT) clinician, research and laboratory expertise. Stanford CCT will advance cancer immunotherapy knowledge pursuing reiterative clinical trial research with biobanking and clinical databases to support innovative informative correlative studies including our bispecific CAR19-22 phase I trial and commercial CAR19 Therapies described herein.
