The National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute has awarded a $1.6 million grant to The Medical College of Wisconsin to help develop immune cell-based cancer therapies.
Subramaniam Malarkannan, associate professor of hematology and oncology at MCW and senior investigator at the Blood Research Insitute, BloodCenter of Wisconsin, is the principal investigator of the grant.
Malarkannan’s research is centered on understanding signaling pathways in Natural Killer cells. NK cells are immune cells that can be useful in destroying tumor cells. His laboratory is working to harness the power of inflammatory mediators in NK cells for use in these tumor cell-destroying applications.
“This NIH funding will help us to vastly improve our current therapy through a unique genetic modification of the NK cells,” Malarkannan said. “Through our work, BloodCenter of Wisconsin and MCW will be recognized as leaders in novel cellular therapy programs in the nation.”
According to MCW, Malarkannan’s research could advance the success of current cancer therapies and provide new techniques for addressing acute or chronic inflammation.
