Thursday Lecture Series: Biomedical Research and Technology: Advances in Cancer Immunotherapy: How Can we Reprogram our Own Immune System to Fight Cancer

Recent findings from the Castro-Lowenstein Team at the University of Michigan Medical School and the ongoing results of their clinical trial, which was recently completed at the University of Michigan, highlight the importance of harnessing the patient’s own immune system to elicit effective anti-cancer therapies. Recent exciting data related to immunotherapies and their use in treating incurable cancers will also be shared. Maria and Pedro have devoted more than two decades to pursuing the immune-mediated genetic treatment of cancer – medicine’s “ultimate frontier.” This gene-therapy strategy enables the human body to fight malignant brain cancer (and potentially other solid cancers) by employing genetically engineered viruses (vectors) to kill the tumor cells and elicit an anti-tumor immune response. Maria will also discuss the Phase I clinical trial at the University of Michigan and exciting developments that have revolutionized the treatment for lung cancer and melanoma.

Prof. Castro completed her PhD from the National University of La Plata, Argentina. And her post-doctoral training from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. She is currently Professor of Neurosurgery and Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School. Her program is developing immunotherapies that block brain tumor growth and recurrence, which led to an exciting Phase 1 trial (NCT01811992) for malignant gliomas, completed in 2023. A second trial for pediatric and young adult patients with recurrent brain tumors (UMCC 2024.064) has been approved by the FDA and will begin in 2025.