Precision Immunotherapy Alliance, PRIMA

Our pan-cancer human NK cell atlas, where we’ve deciphered the gene programs regulating healthy NK cells across blood and tissues and how these are perturbed in solid tumors, has just been published in hashtag #NatureImmunology. We identified six functionally distinct NK cell states, including a dysfunctional stressed CD56bright state susceptible to TME-induced immunosuppression and a cytotoxic TME-resistant effector CD56dim state, the ratio of which was predictive of patient outcome. This was a great collaboration from the Karl-Johan Malmberg lab with Amir Horowitz, Sarah Teichmann FMedSci FRS, Jakob Michaelsson and Nicole Marquardt among others. Precision Immunotherapy Alliance, PRIMA If you are interested, you can explore our pan-cancer NK cell atlas here: Article: https://lnkd.in/d4_m2EMP Online resource: https://lnkd.in/dpbFW3kb

🚨 Tailored #antibodies eliciting potent effector functions are key in anti-cancer therapy. As such, there is an urgent need to understand the expression of Fc receptors in the tumor microenvironment. 🎉 We are delighted to share that #PRIMA will fund our project where we will use advanced spatial biology techniques to gain in-depth insights.  Kanutte Huse, Ivana Spasevska and I will join forces in an exciting collaboration between the June Myklebust and Jan Terje Andersen labs! Precision Immunotherapy Alliance, PRIMA

How do you solve the biggest challenges in cancer research? A toolbox with the hottest tools in biotech and AI 🧬💻 25 million USD 💵 an interdisciplinary team with the brightest scientists in the world 👩🔬👨🏻💻 will get you a long way! Today the Norwegian Cancer Society are in London to celebrate “our own” Johanna Olweus (Oslo University Hospital/ Oslo University) and the rest of Team MATCHMAKERS (from the US, UK, Netherlands and Germany) - recipients of the Cancer Grand Challenges grant from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) 👏🏻🤩 Their goal is to decode the vast repertoire of T-cell receptors and build AI models that can precisely predict their targets. This will potentially unlock an enormous array of novel immunotherapies for many cancers and other diseases (infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and more). Being the only grant recipient from the Nordics underscores the extremely high caliber of Johanna’s research. We are proud supporters and look forward to many breakthroughs that can benefit cancer patients in the future! Kreftforeningen Oslo universitetssykehus Universitetet i Oslo (UiO) Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross Ola Henmo Michael Birnbaum #CancerGrandChallenges

Dear colleagues, We are very excited to invite you all to a distinguished guest lecture with Prof. Ronald Germain, NIH: "Visualizing Immunity – Insights from Multiplex Dynamic and Static Tissue-scale Imaging". Refreshments will be served from 10:45 outside the auditorium. All welcome! Prof. Germain is in Oslo as a member of Precision Immunotherapy Alliance’s (PRIMA) Scientific Advisory Board and the event is co-hosted with the Norwegian Society for Immunology (NSI). Abstract: Immune responses involve cell interactions within lymphoid and peripheral tissues including tumors. To gain insight into the relationships between immune function and the local tissue environment, we have developed new multiplex 2D (IBEX) and 3D (Ce3D / Ce3D-IBEX) optical imaging pipelines and associated computational methods (RAPID and SPACE) for quantitative, spatially-resolved image analysis. IBEX is an open source method for iterative imaging used to probe fixed frozen or FFPE mouse and human tissues to as many as 80 parameters at ~ 300 nm lateral resolution. More than 1000 antibody conjugates have been validated for IBEX and a website provides details on these reagents. Ce3D (clearing enhanced 3D) is a fast clearing technique giving excellent signal intensity from directly conjugated antibodies, permitting a high level of multiplexing and IBEX cycling. Using these methods we have discovered novel commensal-dependent immune clusters at the junction of vagal sensory neurons in normal lungs. In cancers, these tools have revealed how immunotherapy converts suppressive Tregs into type 1 interferon-gamma producing effectors and the unanticipated negative effects of checkpoint therapy on stem-like memory T cells. A method for identifying T cells actively signaling through the antigen receptor has enabled us to identify antigen reactive cells in fixed tissue and to identify the cognate antigen presenting cell. Ce3D has been used to quantify antigen-specific cells in entire lymph nodes, revealing that suppression of autoreactive T cells by Tregs operates by promoting abortive proliferation. These findings illustrate the power of in situ imaging for probing the molecular, cellular, and spatial aspects of immune responses in situ. This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIAID, NIH. On behalf of PRIMA and NSI, Lise Kveberg

🎉 Exciting News! Dr. Nicholas Chandler and I are thrilled to share that we've been awarded a PRIMA grant worth 200,000 NOK for our groundbreaking proof-of-concept project! 🚀 Our research will delve into the intricacies of immunotherapy, with a specific focus on pioneering an innovative AND-gate strategy that combines TCR and NK cell receptors. This exciting approach promises to significantly enhance the safety profile of immunotherapy interventions due to reduced on-target off-tumor effects. By refining the balance between efficacy and safety, our work stands poised to revolutionize the field, offering new avenues for tailored and effective cancer treatments. The PRIMA grant provides us with the invaluable opportunity to bring our ideas to life and make strides toward more effective treatments. Check out the following links for more information on PRIMA. Precision Immunotherapy Alliance, PRIMA Webpage: https://lnkd.in/dSzgvEP3 Instagram account: https://lnkd.in/dttJ5MC2 @Nick Chandler: https://lnkd.in/dFYpEfvB Here's to innovation, collaboration, and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead! 🌟🔬 Warm regards, Dr. Lamberto Torralba-Raga.