Hacking Immune Cells To Expand Their Therapeutic Potential
learn moreOur Research
In the Roybal Lab, we harness the tools of synthetic and chemical biology to enhance the therapeutic potential of engineered immune cells. We take a comprehensive approach to cellular engineering by developing new synthetic receptors, signal transduction cascades, and cellular response programs to enhance the safety and effectiveness of adoptive cell therapies. We also study the logic of natural cellular signaling systems, and the underlying principles of cellular communication and collective cell behavior during an immune response. These interests are complementary as cell engineering is often informed by knowledge obtained from studying natural mechanisms of cell regulation refined by evolution.
Our Partners
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Our People
The Roybal Lab is a dedicated group of students, post-docs, physicians, and staff scientists with diverse backgrounds ranging from basic science to cellular engineering and synthetic immunology. Each member brings expertise in their field to our unique and highly collaborative research environment.
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Recent Lab News
We are excited to announce the publication of a second Nature paper in 2024. Congratulations to Dan Piraner, Maria "Majo" Duran, and several other lab members for developing SNIPR (synthetic intramembrane proteolysis receptor) cells for detecting soluble tumor signals. This is a huge advance for the platform and T cell therapies in general. You can read the paper here: https://nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08366-0
Congratulations once again to Max Foisey, this time for receiving the highly coveted PICI Scholar Grant. This early Career Researcher program has distributed 53 awards through 48 emerging investigators, with PICI deploying over $22.5 million since 2016 to advance high-impact immunotherapy research. Max’s research focuses on how novel hybrid synthetic receptors deliver immunomodulatory payloads, enhancing solid tumor T-cell therapy.. He plans to build upon his current work in the Roybal Lab, which focuses on leveraging synthetic biology to enhance CAR T-cell therapies for solid tumors, an area with great unmet need
Lindsey Draper MD received the ASCO Conquer CancerYoung Investigator Award for the 2024-2025 academic year. Go Lindsey! Conquer Cancer’s grants and awards support oncology professionals atevery career stage, including medical students and residents, to helpaccelerate breakthroughs in research and build an oncology workforce that morefully represents the diverse population affected by cancer. As a member of the2024 class, Lindsey plans to use the funding to advance her research of TumorInfiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) as a treatment for ovarian cancer.
Congratulations to Max Foisey and Adi Jangid for winning Gladstone seed grants. Max will use the funding to advance a CRISPR screen of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) in collaboration with members of the Carnevale Lab. Adi is building a platform for synthetic cell to cell communication. These are both innovative and exciting areas of research and we are excited to see the results!
Ziad Kedkad was awarded best talk at the annualRadiologyResearch Conference. His research of locoregional T cell therapies forthe treatment of unresectable tumors was lead by Jaehoon Shin MD, PhD aRoybal Lab post-doc. Nice work Ziad!
After six years of service as a member researcher at The Parker Center for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), Dr. Kole Roybal, has been appointed to the role of Center Director for PICI at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Roybal succeeds founding Center Director, Dr. Lewis Lanier, PhD, following his retirement, and will join Dr. Lawrence Fong, MD, Center Co-Director in the continued leadership and direction of the PICI at UCSF site. Congratulations Kole!
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