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Date: 10 June 2025 (Tue)
Time: 11am - 12:30pm (SGT) Format: Virtual (Zoom Meeting) Host: Jonathan Yuin Han Loh, Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology, Singapore |
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Speaker's information
Miki ANDO Juntendo University, Japan "Development of next-generation T cell therapy for hematological malignancies and beyond" Pubmed |
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ABSTRACT
CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has successfully shown high efficacy in the treatment of relapsed and refractory (R/R) B-cell lymphomas. However, unmet treatment needs remain for patients with hematologic malignancies and solid cancers. In this perspective, the future development of a more potent and universal cellular immunotherapy, the next-generation CAR T cells, is in need. To target the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, next-generation CAR T cells will incorporate advances in gene engineering and synthetic biology to enhance T cell function and in vivo persistence. Our group is focusing on the development of next generation CAR-T therapy using iPS cell technology and gene-editing technology. This would offer a sustainable and promising approach to “off-the-shelf” T cell therapy.
In this seminar, I will first introduce our clinical real-word data using CAR-T therapy for R/R B cell lymphomas, followed by our projects on next-generation T cell therapy targeting refractory tumors
BIO
Miki Ando, Miki Ando is Professor and Chair of the Department of Hematology,
Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. She is a certified hematologist with over twenty years of experience in research and patient care. She obtained her PhD in 2005 from Juntendo University, Japan, where she currently serves as Chair of the Department of Hematology. Her most recent work focuses on application of iPSC-derived next-generation T-cell therapy for refractory tumors in clinical use. She has published over 60 papers on these topics.
CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has successfully shown high efficacy in the treatment of relapsed and refractory (R/R) B-cell lymphomas. However, unmet treatment needs remain for patients with hematologic malignancies and solid cancers. In this perspective, the future development of a more potent and universal cellular immunotherapy, the next-generation CAR T cells, is in need. To target the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, next-generation CAR T cells will incorporate advances in gene engineering and synthetic biology to enhance T cell function and in vivo persistence. Our group is focusing on the development of next generation CAR-T therapy using iPS cell technology and gene-editing technology. This would offer a sustainable and promising approach to “off-the-shelf” T cell therapy.
In this seminar, I will first introduce our clinical real-word data using CAR-T therapy for R/R B cell lymphomas, followed by our projects on next-generation T cell therapy targeting refractory tumors
BIO
Miki Ando, Miki Ando is Professor and Chair of the Department of Hematology,
Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. She is a certified hematologist with over twenty years of experience in research and patient care. She obtained her PhD in 2005 from Juntendo University, Japan, where she currently serves as Chair of the Department of Hematology. Her most recent work focuses on application of iPSC-derived next-generation T-cell therapy for refractory tumors in clinical use. She has published over 60 papers on these topics.
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Qi-Jing LI
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore "Back to the Future -- A learning journey of T cell therapy against solid tumors" Pubmed |
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ABSTRACT
The success of CAR-T therapy against B cell malignancies highlights the tremendous potential of antigen-specific T cells for tumor eradication. By engineering T cell specificity through natural receptors, we can broaden the spectrum of targetable tumors. However, current TCR-T treatments have yet to replicate these outcomes in solid tumor patients, underscoring the urgent need for a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable platform to identify tumor antigen-specific TCRs. Securing a "druggable" TCR is only the initial phase in achieving effective cancer therapy. Significant challenges remain, including the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, heterogeneous tumor antigens, and difficulties in sustaining long-term anti-tumor immunity. In response to these critical barriers, our presentation will detail our ongoing bench-to-bedside iterations aimed at developing patient-centric T cell therapies for cancer.
BIO
Qi-Jing Li's early research at Stanford focused on TCR antigen recognition and signaling sensitivity. He made a series of key contributions in defining the minimal subunit, rate-limiting step, and sensitivity controls of TCR activation. In 2008, he established his own lab at Duke University, expanding into cancer immunology and clinical immunotherapy. In 2022, he joined A*STAR Singapore as a Distinguished Principal Scientist at IMCB and SIgN. Beyond basic research, Qi-Jing has been continuously translating his expertise in molecular biology and T cell biology into cancer immunotherapy and clinical immune monitoring. As an applied immunologist, he has built immunogenomics profiling tools, developed AI-driven antigen-specific TCR discovery platforms, engineered T cell and NK cell-based therapeutics, and designed and aided more than twenty phase I/II therapeutical trials against various cancers. As a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded three clinical-stage companies advancing CAR-T, TCR-T, and TIL cell therapeutics.
The success of CAR-T therapy against B cell malignancies highlights the tremendous potential of antigen-specific T cells for tumor eradication. By engineering T cell specificity through natural receptors, we can broaden the spectrum of targetable tumors. However, current TCR-T treatments have yet to replicate these outcomes in solid tumor patients, underscoring the urgent need for a rapid, cost-effective, and reliable platform to identify tumor antigen-specific TCRs. Securing a "druggable" TCR is only the initial phase in achieving effective cancer therapy. Significant challenges remain, including the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, heterogeneous tumor antigens, and difficulties in sustaining long-term anti-tumor immunity. In response to these critical barriers, our presentation will detail our ongoing bench-to-bedside iterations aimed at developing patient-centric T cell therapies for cancer.
BIO
Qi-Jing Li's early research at Stanford focused on TCR antigen recognition and signaling sensitivity. He made a series of key contributions in defining the minimal subunit, rate-limiting step, and sensitivity controls of TCR activation. In 2008, he established his own lab at Duke University, expanding into cancer immunology and clinical immunotherapy. In 2022, he joined A*STAR Singapore as a Distinguished Principal Scientist at IMCB and SIgN. Beyond basic research, Qi-Jing has been continuously translating his expertise in molecular biology and T cell biology into cancer immunotherapy and clinical immune monitoring. As an applied immunologist, he has built immunogenomics profiling tools, developed AI-driven antigen-specific TCR discovery platforms, engineered T cell and NK cell-based therapeutics, and designed and aided more than twenty phase I/II therapeutical trials against various cancers. As a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded three clinical-stage companies advancing CAR-T, TCR-T, and TIL cell therapeutics.