Research
The primary research focus of the Jiang lab is the development of novel therapeutic strategies to re-program the immune suppressive tumor microenvironment to ultimately enhance cancer immunotherapies. We are interested in identifying immune suppressive mechanisms intrinsic to the tumor microenvironment and developing novel therapeutic approaches to neutralize or even re-program the tumor microenvironment to promote immune-mediated tumor eradication. We are also investigating novel strategies for combination therapy of conventional cancer treatment and immunotherapy to achieve synergistic treatment effects. Another research focus of our lab group is to design nanomedicine for cancer therapies. Our research philosophy integrates bioengineering and tumor biology to characterize the complex interactions between intratumoral immune cells and cancer cells in solid tumors, with a particular focus on ICIs, in order to design better treatment strategies to enhance overall anti-tumor immunity. This includes developing novel bispecific immuno-bioconjugates to promote tumor cell phagocytosis as a new form of cancer immunotherapy.
Current projects in the lab include testing the treatment efficacy of novel drugs that may activate anti-tumoral immune response and designing nanomedicine for cancer treatment. We utilize molecular biology and cell culture methods to understand mechanisms of drug and immune activation, including by the use of mouse tumor models and targeted immune system adjuvants.