Kaite Lin
DPhil Student
Research interests/Support role
Immunotherapy, treatments that help the immune system attack cancer, has transformed care for some cancers, but many patients still do not respond well.
My research focuses on understanding how the immune cells interact with cancer cells, particularly the crosstalk between tumour cells, tumour-infiltrating monocytes, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes within the tumour microenvironment, in the context of oesophageal cancer. Data from the LUD2015-005 clinical trial suggest that tumour monocyte content (TMC) appears to be a strong predictive biomarker of response and outcome. My project aims to explore how monocytes interact with tumour cells and what impact these interactions have on cytotoxic T lymphocytes functions using patient samples and ex vivo models.
Understanding these crucial interactions could lead to better strategies that make immunotherapy more effective for everyone.
Background
Before joining the Lu Group at Ludwig, I received my BSc in Medical Biosciences at Imperial where I conducted a research project with AstraZeneca on CRISPR RNP delivery using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). I obtained an MPhil degree in molecular biology from Cambridge working with Prof Gillian Griffiths exploring the role of vimentin intermediate filaments on cytotoxic T cell functions.