Probing vaccines' potential benefits
The many approaches to cancer vaccines being studied at Dana-Farber have at least one element in common: the need to be tested for effectiveness.
Kai Wucherpfennig, MD, PhD, seeks out antigens in the lab.
That's where the DFCI laboratory of Kai Wucherpfennig, MD, PhD, plays an important role.
Wucherpfennig's team has developed a way of identifying the specific proteins, called antigens, that help immune system T cells locate cancer cells. Using tiny fluorescent probes, the researchers have isolated antigens found on certain types of cancer cells but not on normal cells. Lee Nadler, MD, and his colleagues have used this information in producing new vaccines.
Wucherpfennig's lab can also determine which classes of T cells are mobilized to fight cancer after a vaccine has been administered. This ability is crucial to measuring the effectiveness of vaccines currently in clinical trials.
"We're able to work with researchers in both the development and testing of new vaccines," Wucherpfennig says. "In that way, we can advance vaccine research throughout the Institute."
