Shlomo Elias, MD, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Area of Research: All Cancers Regulatory T cells are an important type of T cell that can help prevent excessive immune responses that might otherwise damage our healthy tissue. However, they can also suppress immune responses that target tumors. In light of these unique properties, regulatory T cells could potentially be used for treating autoimmune diseases as well as cancer. For example, inhibiting the activity of regulatory T cells could increase anti-tumor immune responses, whereas enhancing their activity could alleviate autoimmune diseases. In order to use these regulatory T cells in the clinic, more must be understood about them. Therefore, Dr. Elias is investigating a member of the Foxp family of factors that control their development and activity. Specifically, he aims to improve our knowledge of how this specific Foxp factor influences regulatory T cell activity as well as how it interacts with other factors in the Foxp family. Dr. Elias’s studies may provide novel insights into the biology of regulatory T cells that could pave the way for their use in the clinic against a variety of diseases, including cancer. Projects and Grants Cooperativity between the transcription factor Foxp3 and its ancestor Foxp1 in Treg cells Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | All Cancers | 2019 | Alexander Rudensky, PhD
