Professor Denis Wirtz

3D Cellular Mapping of Solid Tumors and New CAR T Therapies to Resolve Them

Abstract

Our group has recently developed CODA, an AI-based platform to map whole diseased and healthy organs and organisms in 3D and at single-cell resolution. CODA solves the challenge of imaging large volume samples while preserving high spatial resolution. Through integration with other multi-omic approaches - such as spatial transcriptomics and proteomics - CODA allows for unprecedented cellular and molecular profiling of tissues. I will discuss the new biological insights into tumor onset and progression gained from the use of CODA, including ovarian and pancreatic cancers, and associated biomedical implications for early detection of cancer. I will also introduce our new CAR T therapies that exploit synthetic velocity receptors that dramatically increase the ability of traditional CAR T cells to readily infiltrate fibrotic tumors. We demonstrate their enhanced effectiveness in pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer.