Min-Hee Oh, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Yale University Area of Research: All Cancers Immunotherapies that take advantage of our T cells have led to remarkable benefits in many types of advanced cancers. But they don’t work in many cases because tumors create hostile microenvironments that suppress T cells and keep them in a dysfunctional state. This includes a metabolic barrier that deprives T cells of essential nutrients, which Dr. Oh is now investigating. In particular, she’s exploring how the lack of key nutrients required for tRNAs might impact T cells’ ability to produce proteins. She seeks to define how tRNAs are modified (and by what enzymes), and to determine how different metabolic environments affect tRNA modifications and protein production in T cells. Ultimately, her discoveries could reveal new targets to go after to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Projects and Grants Identifying the Role of tRNA Modifications in T Cells as a Translational Checkpoint in Metabolically Rewired Tumors Yale University | All Cancers | 2021 | Richard, Flavell, PhD
