Profile
The overarching goal of our laboratory is to engineer lymphocytes for adoptive immunotherapy and decipher the design principle of immune regulation in the process. Our primary focus is on reprogramming αβ and γδ T cells with rationally designed synthetic receptors to appropriate the specific, durable and affordable healing of cancer. Chimeric Antigen Receptors, or CARs, are synthetic modular receptors that judiciously integrate multiple domains to augment T cell functions. Illuminated by the promise realized in the cell and gene therapy space, we are generating CAR T cells targeting a range of antigens to resolve multiple clinical challenges in leukemia/lymphoma. We also explore the fundamental mechanisms at the nexus of Tumor: T cell interfaces by using three-dimensional culture in oral cancer models at the scale of metabolism and epigenetics.
Current Focus Areas
We are working on developing CAR T cells targeting CD19/CD20 and CD37. We are also exploring the development of synthetic cytokines and gene circuits to augment the safety and efficacy of therapeutic T cells.
Selected Publications
Gut microbiome homeostasis and the future of probiotics in cancer immunotherapy. Singh A, Alexander SG, Martin S. Front Immunol. 2023 May 16;14:1114499. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1114499. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37261348
CAR γδ T cells for cancer immunotherapy. Is the field more yellow than green? Ganapathy T, Radhakrishnan R, Sakshi S, Martin S. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2023 Feb;72(2):277-286. doi: 10.1007/s00262-022-03260-y. Epub 2022 Aug 12. PMID: 35960333
Engineering off-the-shelf universal CAR T cells: A silver lining in the cloud. Muthuvel M, Srinivasan H, Louis L, Martin S. Cytokine. 2022 Aug;156:155920. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2022.155920. Epub 2022 Jun 7. PMID: 35687930
Cytokines in the generation and function of regulatory T cell subsets in leishmaniasis. Ghosh S, Roy K, Rajalingam R, Martin S, Pal C. Cytokine. 2021 Nov;147:155266. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155266. Epub 2020 Sep 2. PMID: 32888774
CD25 blockade depletes and selectively reprograms regulatory T cells in concert with immunotherapy in cancer patients. Rech AJ, Mick R, Martin S, Recio A, Aqui NA, Powell DJ Jr, Colligon TA, Trosko JA, Leinbach LI, Pletcher CH, Tweed CK, DeMichele A, Fox KR, Domchek SM, Riley JL, Vonderheide RH. Sci Transl Med. 2012 May 16;4(134):134ra62. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003330. PMID: 22593175 Free PMC article.