Daniel Utzschneider, PhD

Cancer is one of the biggest health issues in the world affecting millions of people and their families. Paradoxically, our immune system, especially our white blood cells or T cells, are functionally limited or ‘exhausted’ in response to cancer including blood cancers such as Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), which facilitates disease progression. In recent decades, therapeutic strategies to limit cancer growth have progressed to remove these barriers that impede anti-tumour T cell responses. One such therapy, namely ‘checkpoint blockade’, has led to tremendous improvements in tumor control and revolutionized our approach of treating cancer patients. Despite its unparalleled success, however, not all cancer patients respond to this treatment, in particular those suffering from CLL, underscoring the urgent need to identify the next generation of therapeutic targets to further help all cancer patients. To address this unmet demand, we will take advantage of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, a revolutionary gene-editing technology, to screen for regulators that impact T cell responses to cancer. Contrasting previous screens, we will maximize the benefit of this platform by screening for regulators that have an impact on T cell function. Once validated, these functional regulators will serve as promising therapeutic targets or can improve existing therapies. Ultimately, our goal is to design and develop new treatments to facilitate a cure in leukemia patients.