The Laboratory of Orin Bloch, MD
Research Aims
Identifying immunologic changes in patients with glioblastoma and other CNS tumors
Cancer is an evolutionary process by which the tumor develops the ability to resist treatment, grow unchecked, and escape the immune system. We use high-throughput modalities, including flow cytometry and RNA-seq, to monitor targetable changes in the immune system as patients with tumors of the brain and spine, including glioblastomas, meningiomas, and metastases from distant primary sites progress through surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and other drugs.
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Discovering mechanisms of PD-L1-mediated immunosuppression in GBM
Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an important brake, or immune checkpoint, that prevents the immune system from destroying healthy cells. Through PTEN loss as part of the process of oncogenesis, tumor cells upregulate PD-L1 to escape the immune detection and destruction, additionally secreting soluble factors that increase PD-L1 expression on myeloid cells. These mechanisms are critical mediators of immunosuppression both in the tumor microenvironment and in the peripheral blood. We hope that by overcoming this immunosuppression, we can achieve better outcomes for GBM patients.
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Translating novel immune-activating therapies for GBM to the clinic
Tumors of the central nervous system are notoriously difficult to treat; glioblastoma is the most common primary CNS tumor and has a dismal prognosis, even despite the recent advances to cancer treatments seen in checkpoint inhibitors. We seek to identify drug, biological, and surgically-based methodologies for activating a durable antitumor immune response.
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Bloch - Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Lab
UC Davis School of Medicine Department of Neurological Surgery UC Davis Health UC Davis School of Medicine UC Davis Dept. of Neurological Surgery |
4645 2nd Avenue
Research III Rm. 2200D Sacramento, CA 95817 |
