Speaker: Alexander Xu (University of Maryland, Bioengineering)
Title: Spatial Biology of Tumor Microenvironments (plus T Cells and their T-Cell Receptor Sequences)
Abstract: Human tissues are composed of complex organizations of cells with various functions and interactions, thrown out of balance in times of dysregulation and disease. In cancer, the over-proliferation of cancer cells to overtake normal cell composition is accompanied by a host of changes in the tumor microenvironment - the nearby stromal and immune cells surrounding the cancer. Over the last decade, single cell biology has allowed us to inventory cancer deeply, identifying differentially-expressed genes, pathways, and cell types with clinical significance. To understand how these single cells produce collective behaviors like cancer proliferation or the immune response, it is critical to understand their spatial organization. Here I will present my work on the spatial biology of several cancer systems using highly multiplexed, spatially resolved measurements of proteins and RNA. I will discuss efforts to quantify individual cells, their functions, and their concerted interactions, and how to translate spatial data into biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies. I will also present work on T cell antigen-specificity and spatial distribution in cancer, and how these cells can be measured and engineered for immunotherapy. These data inform models that can be used to explain the physical biology and evolution of cancer.