This support will further research led by the Vannini Lab into the development of targeted metabolic therapies capable of preserving key cell functions in the context of aging and chemotherapeutic treatments.
With this support, Nicola Vannini's lab aims to identify the underpinning metabolic mechanisms inducing T cell defects during aging. Cancer being an age-associated disease and the majority of patients receiving CAR-T cell therapies being over 50 years of age, the core of the Vannini's lab research stems from the belief that metabolic dysfunction acquired during aging represents an important barrier on the bench-to-bedside clinical success. This latest funding by the Fondazione San Salavatore will support the researchers' aim to exploit the identified metabolic targets to successfully boost “old” CAR-T cells' function.