Mission
The Center for Cancer Immunotherapy aims to harness and amplify the cancer-fighting potential of a wide variety of immune cells to dramatically increase the number of cancer patients who benefit from cancer immunotherapy.
Overview
The Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at La Jolla Institute is at the forefront of exploring new and sometimes unexpected avenues for novel immune-based cancer treatments, as well as predicting and improving the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies. It brings together some of the world’s most innovative scientists, who are not afraid to leave the beaten path and tackle major questions in new ways: How to select the best targets for personalized cancer vaccines? How to predict which patients will respond to cancer immunotherapy and how to overcome tumor resistance? How to engage hitherto ignored types of immune cells in the fight against cancer?
What is cancer immunotherapy?
Cancer immunotherapies rally a patient’s immune cells to attack tumor cells and are a source of great hope in cancer care. Several of them are specifically designed to supercharge T cells, which use receptors on their surface to scan anything they encounter to determine whether it is friend or foe. These game-changing treatments have brought cancer patients back from the brink and vanquished tumors resistant to conventional therapies. Despite being hailed as miracle cures, immune-based cancer therapies actually only benefit a minority of cancer patients. The problem is that tumors have developed a suite of molecular tools to thwart the ability of T cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. This challenge has prompted our scientists to look to different divisions of the immune system to overcome tumor cell defenses.
Members
Latest News
Klaus Ley Receives $2.3 Million to Study Fundamentals of Immune Cell Activation
LA JOLLA—Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have received a new grant of more than $2.3 million from the National
LJI team gets first-ever look at a rare but vital stem cell in humans
LA JOLLA—Neutrophils are the warriors of the immune system. They are always ready to spring to action to help heal
LJI Scientists Investigate a Powerful Protein Behind Antibody Development
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered a potential new way to better fight
LJI Donors Turn Health Crisis Into Mission to Champion Institute’s New Cancer Vaccine
Rebecca and Sandy Shapery embody that transformation, and they hope their inspirational journey will soon help save the lives of
LJI researchers reveal unexpected versatility of an ancient DNA repair factor
LA JOLLA, CA—If a bone breaks or a tendon snaps, you know to seek treatment immediately. But your most fragile
Patient takes charge of his treatment path and partners with LJI researchers to create a fully personalized cancer vaccine
But Aldrich was not a normal patient. After the retired entrepreneur learned he had metastatic adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and