Detail

Keywords

Adaptive Immunity; Adenocarcinoma; Immune Evasion; Tumor Burden; Tumor Escape

Research group(s)

• Emilio Casanova
  Members:
  Maša Bereš
  Emilio Casanova
  Sadaf Keshavarz
  Sarah Trouvilliez

Research interests

I am interested in cancer immunology, with a particular focus on lung adenocarcinoma, tumor immune evasion, and the cellular interactions that shape the tumor microenvironment. My research aims to understand why EGFR-driven lung tumors respond poorly to immunotherapy and how tumor progression changes anti-tumor immune responses over time.

Currently, my PhD project investigates the temporal dynamics of immune escape in EGFR-driven lung adenocarcinoma. Using genetically engineered mouse models, we study how early T cell infiltration is lost during tumor progression and how advanced tumors develop an immune-excluded phenotype. Our preliminary data suggest that EGFR-driven tumors can initially recruit T cells, but later lose effective immune infiltration despite maintained tumor antigen expression. This points to active remodeling of the tumor microenvironment rather than simple antigen loss.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

My research combines in vivo lung cancer models with tissue-based, cellular and transcriptomic approaches to study tumor–immune interactions. I use genetically engineered mouse models of EGFR-driven lung adenocarcinoma, induced by intranasal Adeno-CMV-Cre administration, to analyze tumor development at defined stages of disease progression.

To characterize immune changes in the tumor microenvironment, I apply histology, immunohistochemistry, multiplex immunofluorescence imaging and flow cytometry. These methods allow stage-resolved analysis of tumor burden, T cell infiltration, regulatory T cells and macrophage populations. In parallel, I use single-cell RNA sequencing, TCR sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to identify tumor and immune cell states, candidate immune escape pathways and spatial gene expression patterns in lung tumor tissue.