Cancer Immunology Program (CIP)

Overview

The UPCI Cancer Immunology Program is a basic and preclinical research program with over 60 actively participating members recruited from a much larger group of immunologists at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. The majority of Program members are funded to conduct research directly related to tumor immunology, and the rest are immunologists with expertise in related systems of organ rejection, infectious disease, and autoimmunity, whose research contributes to the understanding of immune mechanisms important for tumor-specific immunity.

The scientific goals of the CIP are to:

  1. Understand tumor microenvironment/stem cells, immunosuppression, and immune escape (Cancer Immunology)
  2. Promote the development and testing of better animal models of human cancer, and to identify candidate immune biomarkers and state-of-the-art immunomonitoring assays (Cancer Immunotherapy)
  3. Identify and characterize tumor antigens and animal models for cancer immunoprevention strategies (Cancer Immunoprevention)

Program members interact scientifically through several sub-programs including:

  1. DC:NK cells and Bridging of Innate and Adaptive Immunity
  2. Tumor Antigens, Anti-tumor Cellular Immunity, and Immune Escape
  3. Antigen Processing and Presentation
  4. Cytokines/Chemokines, Cell Signaling, and Cell Trafficking
  5. Inflammation, Tolerance, and Autoimmunity