The best way to engage the immune system in fighting prostate cancer remains uncertain. Using advanced techniques, the goal is to map prostate immune cells and their metabolic activity, determine how these cells interact, and identify the nutrients they consume, thereby deepening our understanding of how to utilize the immune system to combat prostate cancer.
2026 Tullie and Rickey Families Spark Awards finalist
Violante Olivari, Ph.D.
Could cellular ‘food’ be the hidden factor that unlocks exceptional anti-tumor T cells?
Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths among men around the world. Surgery often fails to cure the disease, and immunotherapy shows limited success due to tumors’ immunosuppressive properties.
This research focuses on tissue-resident memory T cells—specialized immune cells that remain stationed in specific tissues, acting as “security guards” ready to respond quickly to threats like tumors. While these cells improve outcomes in other cancers, their role in prostate cancer remains poorly understood.
Luckily, we have the tools to bridge this gap. Using spatial transcriptomics to map cellular locations and gene expression patterns, combined with metabolomics to identify molecules like lipids and amino acids, this study will examine how metabolic signals support these immune cells’ cancer-fighting potential. The research will begin with mechanistic studies in mouse models, while the human samples—already available—will serve as the primary driver of the project.
The SPARK award will provide crucial preliminary data to expand this project, advancing our understanding of prostate cancer’s immune landscape and guiding the development of more targeted therapeutic approaches.
“I hope my research will help reexamine how we treat prostate cancer by understanding how the prostate environment ‘feeds’ the immune system, either suppressing it and enabling tumor escape or, if properly guided, helping energize it to fight back. By understanding and modifying these signals, we could turn that ‘food’ into medicine and help more patients benefit from immunotherapy.”
