Damon Runyon Researchers

Despite the success of immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade in other solid tumors, breast cancer patients have shown limited responses, especially in cases of metastatic disease. Antigen-presenting cells, critical to initiate anti-tumor immunity and for efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade, are known to be defective in breast cancers. Dr. Reddy's research focuses on restoring effective antigen presentation to enhance anti-tumor immunity in breast cancers. Based on data generated in her lab, she is leading a clinical trial to test the combination of chemotherapy with two therapeutic molecules that promote different aspects of antigen presentation. This trial will assess the safety, clinical efficacy, and pharmacodynamics associated with this triplet therapy. Through this work, she hopes to improve long-term survival of patients with triple negative breast cancer and lay the foundation for systemically targeting antigen presentation as a therapeutic strategy in solid tumors.