New York Weill Cornell

About

The Ludwig Laboratories at Weill Cornell Medicine have complementary research aims and work in concert to address key challenges of cancer immunotherapy.

The Collaborative Laboratory investigates the mechanisms by which the tumor microenvironment inhibits anti-tumor immune responses and devises strategies to overcome such defenses and improve cancer therapy. Its efforts focus on the mechanism-based, rational design of novel cancer treatment strategies. In addition, the its researchers investigate cell types and molecules required for effective immune responses and immune resistance as well as biomarkers and genetic determinants of response to immunotherapy. Though these studies rely on preclinical model systems, the lab maintains a reciprocal connection between the bench and the clinic in translational research, applying insights obtained in each venue to refine efforts in the other.

The Laboratory for Cell Therapy similarly explores tumor biology but its translational focus emphasizes the design of personalized T cell therapies and their experimental validation in the clinic. Cell therapies involve the isolation from patients of tumor-targeting immune cells, their expansion in the lab and subsequent reintroduction to the same patients for cancer therapy. An intervening step involves the selection and reengineering of the cells to better target a patient’s cancer and enhance their capabilities. The Laboratory for Cell Therapy harnesses advances in synthetic biology and artificial intelligence to devise a new generation of T cell therapies that are equipped to overcome the many barriers tumors erect against immune attack.