An EMBO 2020 post-doctoral fellowship to Francesca Alfei/Ho Lab
This award comes in support of research on the crosstalk of CD8+ T cells and how this might be leveraged to increase responsiveness to immunotherapy.
Francesca Alfei is a member of the Ho Lab, part of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne branch. "My work* will focus on understanding how the crosstalk of CD8+ T cells with dendritic cells and possibly other immune cells could be exploited to increase responsiveness to immunotherapy." explains Francesca.
Cancer patients often fail to fully respond to immunocheckpoint blockade immunotherapy and the mechanisms defining the responsiveness to treatments are still not totally revealed. Tumor infiltrating CD8+ T cells are a key player in the anti-tumor immune response, supported by type one conventional dendritic cells.
"I am very proud to become an EMBO fellow. I believe it will be a great opportunity to enforce the fundament of my scientific career and to achieve key knowledge for cancer treatment."
*Investigating the rheostatic roles of Type I dendritic cells in tailoring CD8+ T cell anti-tumor responses in the tumor microenvironment.
par Diane De Saab