Nam Woo Cho, MD, PhD

Radiation therapy is used to treat many patients with cancer. Doctors can aim radiation at a tumor precisely. But radiation alone often cannot get rid of all the cancer, especially if it has spread. Immunotherapy is another type of cancer treatment. It uses the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. This strategy can work very well. However, it can also cause side effects. This happens when the immune system attacks healthy tissues. Thus, current immune treatments could benefit from improved precision against cancer cells.   Our research combines the strengths of radiation and immunotherapy. Radiation is normally used to kill cancer cells. However, we will use radiation in a new way. Our approach is designed to improve how immune cells respond within tumors while limiting effects in other parts of the body. This may help protect healthy tissues.   In this project, we will find ways to make immune cells perform better after radiation. We will find genes that help the immune cells grow, survive and kill cancer cells. We will also test ways to send supportive signals directly into tumors instead of the whole body. If we succeed, we establish a new type of cancer treatment. Patients could benefit from immune therapy that is more precise and powerful, with fewer side effects.