State: New York

In the past decade, the incidence of pediatric IBD has doubled, and that of early-onset CRC has quadrupled in the United States. The aggressive clinical course of IBD and reduced overall survival of associated young-onset CRC represent an unmet clinical need. Notably, although the reasons for the upward trend of childhood IBD and early-onset CRC are poorly understood, food and nutrition that raises blood sugar have been identified as the major risk factor. Our research takes the nutrigenomic approach to investigate food-gene regulatory networks that can be exploited for harnessing tumor-initiating cells and pro-tumor inflammation. We anticipate that new mechanistic links and therapeutic targets identified in this study will inspire novel preventive and curative strategies to combat inflammatory diseases and cancer.

The role of the immune system is to survey the body in search of dangerous “non-self” elements and to eliminate them without damaging the host. Cancer is a disease which develops when host cells genetically change and begin growing in an uncontained fashion. It was therefore thought for many years that the immune system was incapable of recognizing or eliminating cancer cells due to their emergence from, and similarity to, “self” elements. The remarkable discovery that blocking signals (“immune checkpoints”) that restrain the ability of immune cells to recognize and destroy foreign elements can enable the immune system to treat cancer has fundamentally changed our approach to the treatment of these patients. Even in the setting of immune checkpoint inhibitors, however, immune cells lose functionality within tumors as part of a stepwise process known collectively as T-cell “exhaustion.” Reversing T-cell exhaustion is essential to make immunotherapy a viable treatment for all patients.

Our laboratory recently discovered that the metabolism of T-cells – the way that cells take up, break down, and utilize nutrients – becomes dysfunctional within tumors and, and moreover that this metabolic switch is required for T-cells to become fully exhausted. In work supported by the V foundation, we will understand how tumors exploit this metabolic dysfunction by creating metabolically inhospitable environments in which T-cells lose their capacity to control tumor growth. By identifying and reversing these environmental barriers, we hope to reverse or prevent T-cell exhaustion and make immunotherapy a viable strategy for every patient.

Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund with support from the Rudd Foundation in memory of Leslie Rudd

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that boosts the body’s immune system so that it can fight the cancer. Whilst this type of treatment has proven very successful for certain cancers in adult patients, this approach has been much less effective for the treatment of cancer in children. One reason for this is that the immune system of children is very different from adults and may not respond to treatments designed to target adult immune cells. Remarkably little is known about the cell types in children that suppress anti-cancer immune responses. The Brown Lab recently discovered a new type of immune cell —Thetis cells — that may be pivotal in reducing the efficacy of immunotherapy in the very young. We hypothesize that Thetis cells help to “train” T cells not to attack the body’s own normal cells, and in so doing creates an immune environment that also tolerates malignant tumors. In this project, the Brown Lab seeks to reveal, on the molecular level, how Thetis cells work and thus how to create immune therapies for children while not provoking auto-immune diseases that overactive T cells sometimes cause. 

Funded by the Constellation Gold Network Distributors

Genetic information is carried in DNA, which is present in every cell of our bodies. Most cells have 46 chromosomes, which carry DNA within the cell. However, more than 90% of tumors have cells without the correct number of chromosomes. These cells are called “aneuploid”. Some whole chromosomes or large chromosome fragments may be duplicated or lost. Aneuploidy is a contributing factor in cancer formation. However, its exact role in this process is an unanswered question in cancer biology. The goal of this research is to understand the effects of different changes in chromosome number.  

For our studies, we make use of a new technology that allows us to cut chromosomes at specific locations. With these experiments, we can study the effects of changes in large chromosome segments. Our current focus is a type of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In this cancer type, large pieces of chromosome 3 are affected. Here, we will uncover the interaction between chromosome 3 changes and DNA mutations. We will also create a human cell model of SCC. These studies address a gap in our understanding of aneuploidy in cancer by studying the effects of specific sets of chromosomal changes. With knowledge of how these chromosomal changes contribute to cancer formation, we will uncover new ways that cells can become cancerous. A better understanding of paths to disease formation will be crucial for designing new cancer treatments. 

Funded by the Wine Celebration in honor of Carol Bornstein

Tumors are constantly growing and mutating – they are different from healthy cells, and thus should be able to be recognized by your immune system. However, immune cells respond to molecules that act as brakes, which can be used by tumor cells to escape being killed. While some of these immune brakes have been discovered, drugs blocking these do not work in most cancer patients, and many remain unknown. To improve survival for everyone, we need to figure out what the other important brakes are so we can reprogram your own immune system to fight cancer. We have recently discovered Siglec-15 as a new immune cell brake in tumors. Blocking Siglec-15 shows improved immune activity in studies involving human cells and mice. Based on these results, clinical trials targeting Siglec-15 are currently ongoing. Initial trial results show that targeting Siglec-15 is safe and slows down tumor growth in patients who have already failed other therapies. Thus, we need to understand the biology of Siglec-15 so we can design the best cancer therapy possible. Here, we will study how Siglec-15 suppresses tumor immunity and identify strategies to maximize its clinical response. Our proposal will improve our knowledge of cancer immunology and help patients in the fight against late-stage cancers.