Chrystal Paulos, PhD

Melanoma is a serious and often deadly type of skin cancer. Although immunotherapy has saved many lives, it still doesn’t work for every patient. Our lab is developing ways to give the immune system another chance to succeed.We are creating a new kind of cell therapy using “helper” T cells, known as Th17 cells. These cells do more than attack cancer directly—they help guide and activate other immune cells, turning the fight into a team effort.We discovered that a molecule called ICOS helps these helper T cells survive longer and build immune memory. This memory may help stop cancer from coming back in the future.Our goal is to turn this finding into a new treatment for people with melanoma who did not respond to standard therapies. By helping the immune system work better, we hope to offer patients more than extra time. We want to offer lasting hope.This research moves us closer to making melanoma a disease we can truly overcome.