Using in situ spatial transcriptomics? Try Proseg, @danielcjones’s new cell segmentation method based on probabilistic and Cellular Potts modeling. Great for Vizgen Merscope, 10x Genomics Xenium, and @nanostringtech CosMx data. Preprint & code: (1/n) doi.org/10.1101/2024.0…

Immunotherapy has revolutionised the treatment of mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer Here's the story in 5 papers🧵 1. The seminal work (NEJM, 2015) showed that immunotherapy is much more effective in mismatch repair-deficient (vs. -proficient) colorectal cancer:

Congrats to E. John Wherry, PhD, Co-Director of the PICI Center at Penn Medicine, on his election to the National Academy of Sciences—one of the highest honors in American science! His discoveries in T cell exhaustion and checkpoint pathways have transformed cancer immunotherapy and continue to

Mitigating T cell DNA damage during PARP inhibitor treatment enhances antitumor efficacy | Science Translational Medicine science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

Enhanced CAR T-Cell Therapy for Lymphoma after Previous Failure | New England Journal of Medicine ⁦Penn Medicine⁩ ⁦⁦Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy⁩ nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

For patients with lymphoma that relapses after CAR T, clinical options become vanishingly few. Now, a new study in NEJM led by Carl June, Director of the PICI Center Penn Medicine, offers a new approach: huCART19-IL18 –– an IL-18–secreting, “armored” CAR T-cell.

Early results in patients who had failed prior CAR T: → 81% overall response → 52% complete remission at 3 months → 3-day manufacturing turnaround This research from Carl June and team represents the first IL-18–secreting CAR T tested in blood cancer — and it may reshape

Despite their effectiveness, #celltherapies remain prohibitively expensive to develop—often costing hundreds of millions of dollars—creating significant barriers to patient access. Crystal Mackall, Stanford University, kicks off the first session with a presentation. #CGTFriends

Friends of Cancer Research There’s been great progress in CGTs, making it more affordable and accessible, and great ideas shared / next steps. Caring Cross and others are definitely working on some of those solutions. Congratulations to all and great to hear the FDA Drug Information and U.S. FDA progress

How do we get promising cell therapies to more patients—faster, especially for rare cancers? At a forum PICI co-hosted in Washington, D.C. today with Friends of Cancer Research, expert leaders from FDA, academia, industry & patient advocacy gathered to explore flexible trials, decentralized

What an honor to take part in this important forum alongside such outstanding partners in Friends of Cancer Research and the U.S. FDA. Grateful to moderate the session on manufacturing—and especially proud of the PICI Network leaders driving change: @CrystalMackall and Saara Gills. Tremendous

It is with great honor that we share that two longstanding PICI leaders — Eric Esrailian, MD, MPH, and James P. Allison, PhD — will receive 2025 Ellis Island Medals of Honor tomorrow, Saturday, May 10, in recognition of service, innovation and impact. Their work continues to

Can a side effect really be a signal? In the first peer-reviewed study from PICI’s RADIOHEAD cohort—following 1,070 real-world, immunotherapy-naïve patients—researchers confirmed that those who developed immune-related side effects (irAEs) lived longer than those who didn’t. 📄

Fastastic collaboration looking deeply at longitudinal checkpoint response in a real world setting #immunotherapy

Can personalized vaccines make immunotherapy more effective in bladder cancer? In a new Nature Cancer study, PICI investigator Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, tested PGV001 + atezolizumab. All patients showed immune responses. 3 of 4 in the adjuvant group remained recurrence-free at 39

Our joint meeting with Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy addressed industry challenges in #celltherapy manufacturing and highlighted key solutions: regulatory flexibility, cross-sector collaboration, and alternative business models. Watch the full meeting: bit.ly/43hiHos #CGTFriends

At PICI, we’ve spent nearly a decade building a model to move science faster to patient impact by connecting researchers, biotech leaders and venture partners to accelerate progress from bench to bedside to business. That’s why we’re proud to be featured at the 7th Annual

AI is reshaping cancer care—but only if it delivers for patients. At #STATBreakthroughWest, PICI CEO Karen Knudsen, MBA PhD joined ASCO, Mass General Brigham and STAT to discuss how AI must move from hype to real-world impact. Clifford Hudis, Danielle Bitterman, MD, Angus Rohan Chen (1/3)

New #JITC article: Associations between immune checkpoint inhibitor response, immune-related adverse events, and steroid use in RADIOHEAD: a prospective pan-tumor cohort study bit.ly/4dpztXb John Connolly

Today at #ASCO2025, the first immunologic readout from the INCIPIENT trial—CARv3‑TEAM‑E (Abstract 2008)—hits the podium in the CNS Tumors Oral Session. Time: 5:09–5:21 PM CDT  | Room S406, McCormick Place, Chicago. PICI investigator Marcela Maus, MD, PhD (Mass General) and