The Immunotherapy Engineering Lab at the OSUCCC – James, led by cancer research expert and principal investigator Wing Chan, PhD, focuses on developing innovative treatments that harness the power of CAR T-cell therapy and other immunotherapeutic strategies to fight cancer.
The team concentrates on three key pillars:
- Gene and Cell Therapy Innovations: Developing novel CAR T/NK-cell designs that are resistant to tumor microenvironment-derived immunosuppression in aggressive lymphomas, including relapse and refractory mantle cell lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, by using virally and non-virally CRISPR/Cas9 technologies.
- Bispecific and Multispecfic Antibody-Based Immunotherapy Discovery: Developing a CAR library and screening platform against novel oncotargets in hematological malignancies as well as in solid tumors, and developing new antibody modalities that target cancer cells with antibody engineering approaches.
- cGMP-Grade Cell Therapy Development: Process development and analytical method development for translating cell therapies to the clinic.
This multipronged focus enables the Immunotherapy Engineering Lab to design, optimize and validate the CAR T/NK/antibody functions in preclinical settings, then translate those for clinical development. The goal? To create next-generation immunotherapy through synthetic biology approaches.
Mission
At the OSUCCC – James, the Immunotherapy Engineering Lab research scientists’ mission is to leverage cutting-edge technologies and interdisciplinary approaches to innovate cancer therapy.
This internationally recognized team of experts believes in science with a side of heart — they are driven by their mission to and passion for innovating and improving treatments that harness the immune system’s power to fight disease.
For them, each patient’s success story inspires the team to push boundaries, to continue learning and to collaborate — knowing their work makes a real difference in people’s lives and offers hope, resilience and the possibility of a brighter, healthier future.
Who We Are and What We Do
Dr. Wing Chan, the Immunotherapy Engineering Lab’s principal investigator, is an internationally recognized research expert.
He received his PhD in cancer immunology from the University of Hong Kong and completed his postdoctoral training at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He joined the lab in 2019.
Inspired to save lives through groundbreaking discoveries in immunotherapy interventions, Dr. Chan is also passionate about maintaining a warm, family-like atmosphere for his team. From seasoned research experts to new technicians, every team member is vital to their success. By prioritizing not only scientific excellence, but also open communication and regular project planning, the team fosters strong, symbiotic relationships. This collaborative spirit fuels creativity and innovation, enabling them to address and tackle complex challenges in cancer treatment.
For more information on the Immunotherapy Engineering Lab team, collaborations, opportunities and lab-specific inquiries, please contact wing.chan@osumc.edu.