Research Laboratory of Genome Editing

Research Laboratory of Genome Editing

Head of Laboratory — Olga Fedorova, PhD in Biology

Tasks

  • Creating a platform for the expansion of the most effective subpopulations of CAR NK cells through rational stimulation of surface receptors.
  • Solving the challenges of CAR T/NK cell therapy, increasing the resistance of CAR T cells to the tumor microenvironment and correcting chemotaxis.
  • Creating dual CAR-CAR-T combination recognizing two antigens.

Focus areas

  • Studying the fundamental principles of T/NK cell activation and their interaction with tumor cells.
  • Generating new proteins that recognize cancer determinants on tumor cells.
  • Developing new generation CAR T- and NK-cell products, including allogeneic ones, to ensure stable remission and complete recovery in these patients.

Project description

The use of genetically modified cell products for cancer treatment is one of the most actively developing areas of biomedicine. The generation of such cell products is not a purely technical task, since, as in addition to well-established biotechnological processes, a deep understanding of the biology of effector lymphocytes and cancer cells is required. One example is CAR T-cell therapy for hematological malignancies.

Although the US FDA approved three such CAR T-cell products for some hematological malignancies (B-r/rALL, NHL), the long-term survival of patients without subsequent bone marrow transplantation is on average no better than 30-40%. Moreover, in relation to other hematological malignancies, in particular MDS, AML, T-ALL, the results of CAR T-cell therapy are even worse. Therefore, it seems extremely important: a) to study the basic principles of T-/NK-cell activation and the interaction of these cells with tumor cells; b) to obtain new proteins that recognize cancer determinants on tumor cells; c) to develop new generation CAR T- and NK-cell products, including allogeneic ones, to ensure stable remission and complete recovery in these patients.

It is well known that the current effectiveness of cell therapy in the context of most solid cancers is low and requires the development of new solutions for the CAR structure, ancillary modules, production of cell products, as well as the search for effective therapeutic combinations. The research carried out in the laboratory is complex and relevant, and the results are in demand by the medical community and, most importantly, by patients. It should be noted that, in addition to the obvious translational importance, the work will also provide fundamental data.

Specialists of the Laboratory

  • Olga Fedorova, PhD in Biology, Head of Laboratory
  • Andrey Gorchakov, PhD in Biology, Senior Researcher
  • Sergey Kulemzin, PhD in Biology, Senior Researcher
  • Oleg Shuvalov, PhD in Biology, Senior Researcher
  • Alexey Petukhov, Researcher
  • Polina Mateikovich, Junior Researcher
  • Roman Vlasik, Junior Researcher
  • Ksenia Levchuk, Junior Researcher
  • Olga Vasilyeva, Research Assistant
  • Yulia Kirdeeva, Research Assistant
  • Anna Yurina, Research Assistant
  • Pavel Solodkov, Research Assistant

Major publications