Research Project

Dissecting TGF Beta and GM-CSF Signaling in Ovarian Cancer Using Oncolytic Adenovirus Platforms

Principal Investigator

Kadkol, Lakshmi Shrihari

Research Area(s)

Ongoing Projects

Abstract

Lakshmi is investigating how two key immune signaling molecules, TGF‑β and GM‑CSF, cooperate to shape an immune‑excluded ovarian tumor microenvironment that resists immunotherapy. She is using conditionally replicating oncolytic adenoviruses to precisely modulate these cytokines within a syngeneic mouse model, which mimics peritoneal, immune‑excluded ovarian cancer. Her work shows that simultaneously decreasing TGF‑β and increasing GM‑CSF can reprogram immune and stromal gene expression beyond what targeting either pathway alone achieves. Ongoing work will apply single‑cell RNA sequencing, flow cytometry, and multiplex immunohistochemistry to define the mechanisms by which microenvironment‑targeted immunotherapy can overcome immune exclusion in ovarian cancer.