Michelle Tran and Jonathan Anker
Michelle and Jon are investigating myeloid cell dysregulation in urothelial carcinoma. Specifically, they are studying how myeloid cells may contribute to an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and drive metastatic bladder cancer patient resistance to anti-PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint blockade therapy. They utilize flow cytometry and various single-cell multi-omic techniques to characterize the phenotype, function, and upstream factors leading to myeloid cell dysregulation in bladder cancer. The ultimate goal is to apply the knowledge gained from this work to design novel immunotherapy strategies that improve the current limited treatment landscape for advanced, late-stage bladder cancer.