Response to checkpoint blockade therapy in melanoma and lung cancer patients
Immunotherapy has revolutionized cancer therapy, leading to the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. However, despite the dramatic response observed in several cancer types, many patients do not benefit from this treatment or relapse in a relatively short time. To improve our understanding of patient response we collaborate with clinicians at Massachusetts General Hospital that collect fresh tumor samples from skin and lung cancer patients. These samples are processed using cutting edge technologies to generate molecular data at the single cell level. Our goal is to develop computational methods that can handle the size and complexity of these data, and address challenges related to biomarker identification, drug target prediction, and a deep characterization of the tumor’s microenvironment.
