Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program

The Christopher Klebanoff Lab

Research

Christopher A. Klebanoff, MD

Assistant attending and member, IOS-HOPP, MSKCC

Assistant Professor

A form of cancer immunotherapy termed adoptive T cell transfer (ACT), in which a patient’s own T cells are engineered to recognize and attack cancer cells, can induce durable complete remissions in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies. By contrast, a similar approach has thus far failed to work in most patients with solid malignancies, the leading cause of adult cancer-related deaths. Two critical gaps in knowledge have limited the ability of ACT to be successfully applied to solid cancers: 1) understanding which antigens on the surface of cancer cells can be targeted by T cells that do not have the potential to cross- react with and injure normal tissues, and 2) insight into what factor(s) restrain the ability of transferred T cells to infiltrate, expand, and persist within a solid tumor mass. Using diverse techniques, including single-cell sequencing, biophysical measurements of T cell receptor (TCR) affinity, genetic engineering, and structural immunobiology, the Klebanoff laboratory seeks to address both factors currently limiting the application of ACT for advanced solid cancers.

Research Projects

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Featured News

In the Lab

CAR T Cells Get an Invisibility Cloak

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Publications

Klebanoff, C.A., Rosenberg, S.A., Restifo, N.P. Prospects of gene-engineered T cell immunotherapy for solid cancers. Nature Medicine, 22: 26-36, 2016.

Klebanoff, C.A., Scott, C.D., Leonardi, A.J., Yamamoto, T., et al. Memory T cell–driven differentiation of naive cells impairs adoptive immunotherapy. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 126: 318-334, 2016.

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People

Christopher A. Klebanoff, MD

Assistant attending and member, IOS-HOPP, MSKCC

Assistant Professor

Physician-scientist Christopher A. Klebanoff studies T cell immunobiology with an emphasis on adoptive T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of solid malignancies.
MD, Emory University School of Medicine