Roarke Kamber, Ph.D.

Research

My lab studies how immune cells called “macrophages” interact with cancer cells. Macrophages are long-lived, highly adapted to their tissue environment, present within tumors, and can kill cancer cells. However, their antitumor activity is often suppressed by inhibitory signals that remain incompletely defined. As a result, macrophages have been largely overlooked in immunotherapy. I will use advanced genetic approaches to discover molecules that either promote or inhibit macrophage anticancer function. I will then develop and optimize strategies that target these molecules to both boost cancer-fighting activity and disable the signals that suppress it. Such strategies will incorporate chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modification and targeted receptor ablation via CRISPR editing. By integrating fundamental discovery with systematic engineering, this project will enable us to transform macrophages into potent, durable antitumor agents. Modified macrophages represent a new therapeutic modality, expanding the cell therapy toolkit beyond its current focus on T cells. Such macrophages could be particularly valuable in treating solid tumors and metastases, the most lethal forms of cancer, which do not respond well to T-cell therapy.