The Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology (LICI) studies the role of the immune system in carcinogenesis, cancer associated morbidity and response to cancer therapy with a focus on the interactions between innate and adaptive resistance.  Researchers in the LICI are developing interdisciplinary approaches combining novel biological, molecular and computational experimental approaches, bioinformatics, genetics, mathematical modeling and transkingdom network analysis to understand the complexities of immune and inflammatory processes and the role of pathogens and commensal microbes in the disease process of cancer, and translate this knowledge into progress in clinical care.

Research Groups

Currently, the LICI is composed of four research groups:

- The ImmunoDynamics Group (Dr. Grégoire Altan-Bonnet) builds quantitative models of the process of cellular decision making in the immune system.

- The HLA Immunogenetics Section (Dr. Mary Carrington) investigates the host genetic effects on human disease. The primary candidates include the HLA class I and II genes located within the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC), because of their central role in the immune response.

- The Inflammatory Cell Dynamics Section (Dr. Romina Goldszmid) studies the underlying mechanisms regulating the functional maturation and dynamics of mononuclear phagocytes (e.g., dendritic cells, monocytes and macrophages) in pathological situations such as cancer and infectious diseases with particular emphasis on the role of the microbiota.

- The Cancer Immunobiology Section (Dr. Giorgio Trinchieri) studies the role of dendritic cells, other innate or adaptive effector cell types, and pro-inflammatory or immunoregulatory cytokines on carcinogenesis and cancer therapy.

Adjunct Investigator

Dr. Li Yang (Head, Tumor Microenvironment Section, Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, CCR) is investigating the mechanisms of tumor-host interaction underlying tumor initiation, invasion and metastasis, with an emphasis on the contribution of TGF-beta signaling and the COX-2 pathway.

Microbiome and Genetics Core

The LICI also manages one core laboratory, the Microbiome and Genetics Core, supervised by Dr. Colm O'Huigin.