Greg Delgoffe, PhD, Awarded a 2020 Cancer Research Institute Grant

Greg M. Delgoffe, PhD, associate professor of Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been awarded a Lloyd J. Old STAR Award from the Cancer Research Institute, providing a grant of $1.25 million over five years for innovative immunotherapy research. 

Delgoffe Lab Research Initiatives

The Delgoffe lab is investigating the notion that the metabolically deregulated landscape of cancer growth might hinder immunotherapy, as T cells infiltrating the tumor can essentially be starved of the fuel needed for their activity.  

They found that the lack of nutrients in this environment may suppress the function of heathy immune cells, but other more dysfunctional types of immune cells can thrive in that state. The team is exploring the precise metabolic pathways that support the survival of harmful immune cells within tumors and developing metabolic reprogramming strategies that could eliminate those cells. 

Dr. Delgoffe hopes the insights his team uncovers can lead to the development of improved cancer immunotherapy strategies and treatments that provide metabolic support to the revived immune response. 

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