Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive cancers, with limited treatment options due to its highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and poor response to conventional immunotherapies. One novel strategy to overcome these challenges is the development of personalized cancer vaccines using patient-derived tumor cells fused with autologous dendritic cells (DCs). These vaccines have demonstrated the ability to generate broad, tumor-specific immune responses by presenting tumor antigens. The Avigan Lab has evaluated this vaccine in other cancers, including multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia, where it has had success in tumor-specific immunity.
In my project with the Avigan Lab, I will contribute to the development and evaluation of combination immunotherapy strategies for pancreatic cancer. I will investigate whether combining a personalized fusion cell vaccine with engineered bacterial therapy enhances anti-tumor efficacy in a murine PDAC model. We will focus on combining the vaccine with potential treatments and assess the anti-tumor immune response to determine the potential synergistic effects of these therapies. This work may help provide insight into the potential these
fusion cell vaccines and other promising immunotherapies to improve treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer.
Northeastern University
