Invited Talk

3D Multi-omic cellular maps and CAR T cells engineered to infiltrate solid tumors

Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

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I will present two technological platforms recently developed in my lab: (1) CODA: An AI-based workflow to image whole human organs and tumors at single-cell resolution. Using CODA, we determined the number, morphology, and mutational profile of precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer, PanINs, in the human pancreas. We have also used CODA to map the complex micro-anatomy of whole fallopian tubes in pre- and post-menopausal women. (2) CAR TV therapy: we have engineered self-propelled tumor-infiltrating CAR T cells using synthetic “velocity” receptors based on a limited set of inflammatory cytokines. We have designed velocity receptors for T cells to adopt a hyper-migratory phenotype that allows for their massive infiltration into the stromal matrix of solid tumors. We have successfully tested these CAR TV cells in pre-clinical mouse models of pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer.