BME7900 Seminar Series - Amanda Lund, PhD

Description

We welcome our next speaker, Dr. Amanda Lund from New York University. She is an Associate Professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and Department of Pathology. Investigating the Impact of Lymphatic Transport on Anti-Tumor Immunity Abstract: The non-hematopoietic tumor microenvironment plays a critical role in regulating the infiltration, retention, function, and exit of tumor infiltrating leukocytes. While lymphatic vessels facilitate T cell priming through dendritic cell and antigen delivery to lymph nodes, they are also coopted in melanoma to promote regional metastasis and mediate immune escape. Therefore, the functional role of the lymphatic vasculature in anti-tumor immune surveillance and response to immunotherapy remains complex and poorly understood. We recently made the observation that tumor-associated lymphatic vessels facilitate T cell egress/exit out of melanoma microenvironments. We explored the interstitial trafficking behavior of CD8+ T cells and identified molecular “stay and go” signals that direct CD8+ T cell retention in melanoma or exit to draining lymph nodes. Our data indicate that the tumor-associated stroma provides competing signals that restrict the accumulation of anti-tumor immunity within the tumor parenchyma itself. Here, we will discuss lymphatic transport in the context of melanoma and its implications for tumor immune surveillance and response to therapy. Bio: Amanda W. Lund, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and Department of Pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and is a Member of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health. She received a PhD in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York (2009), and completed Postdoctoral training in cancer immunology with Dr. Melody A. Swartz at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Lund’s early work established the paradigm that tumor-associated lymphatic vessel remodeling plays a role in regulating anti-tumor immunity where lymphatic vessels are both necessary for adaptive immune priming and also contribute to multiple mechanisms of immune resolution and tumor immune escape. This work established the hypothesis that lymphatic vessels may be manipulated for improved response to immunotherapy. Dr. Lund’s lab is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms that govern lymphatic/immune interactions in melanoma and skin. Her lab has identified new mechanisms of lymphatic vessel activation that drive context-dependent changes in adaptive immune responses through direct effects on endothelial activation and fluid and cellular transport. Elucidation of these specific molecular mechanisms is expected to lead to targeted interventions to tune lymphatic transport and impact immune responses against developing tumors either alone or in combination with existing immunotherapies.