Lehman College Hosts Panel Discussion on Use of Immunotherapy in Fighting Cancer

Lehman College will present “Innovations in Immunotherapy,” a panel discussion covering new and exciting breakthroughs in cancer treatment, on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18 at 6 p.m. in the Music Building on the Lehman campus. The program is open to the public, and admission is free.

The panel discussion will be led by Dr. Haiping Cheng, chair of Lehman’s Department of Biology, and include two medical researchers currently at work advancing ways to use the immune system to identify and fight cancer cells—Dr. Moira Sauane, assosciate professor of biology at Lehman, and Dr. Kayla Weiss, a postdoctoral research fellow at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an adjunct assistant professor at Lehman.

In the past few years, cancer immunotherapy developments have been making headlines in the news. Genetic biomarkers have led to precision medicines; T cells, part of the immune system’s response function, are being “trained” to attack cancer cells; and new antibodies are being utilized that target checkpoints used by cancer cells to avoid attack by the immune system.

The cutting-edge research being conducted by Dr. Sauane uses genetic information in molecular mechanisms to inhibit tumor growth and kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells. Meanwhile, Dr. Weiss is working to identify how disease-causing microbes circumvent detection and elimination by a host immune system in order to create vaccines and treatments that offer stronger protection against pathogens.

Sponsors of “Innovations in Immunotherapy” include Lehman College’s Department of Biology and the Lehman College Alumni Association. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by calling Lehman College’s Department of Biology at (718) 960-8235.