# Immunology Research Program (Program 2)

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $39,439

## Abstract

ABSTRACT 
The Immunology (IM) program is devoted to enhancing our understanding of the function of the innate and 
adaptive immune system in the pathogenesis of malignant disease. There are three broad themes in the 
program—(1) innate immunity and the role of checkpoint innate sensors in the initiation of malignant disease; 
(2) adaptive immunity and the role of effector and regulatory T cells and B cells in the biology of malignant 
disease and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD); and (3) tumor vaccines and translational immunotherapy. The 
last theme focuses on nanoparticle delivery and vaccine development and a new area using modified T cells 
for adoptive cellular therapy. Significant highlights of the program have been seminal discoveries regarding 
the negative immunoregulatory role of innate sensing proteins and their role in cancer development, the 
generation of a novel mouse model to investigate viral induced carcinogenesis in the liver, completion of the 
largest clinical trial combining an antibody and tumor vaccine approach given with chemotherapy for the 
treatment of women with metastatic breast cancer and novel findings regarding the function of 
immunosuppressive pathways and immune cells in the growth of solid tumors. The third programmatic area, 
translational immunotherapy, is greatly enhanced by the building in 2015 of the sole cellular expansion GMP 
facility in the state of North Carolina and plans for genetically modified autologous T cell infusions for the 
treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, multiple myeloma and Hodgkin lymphoma in 2016. 
Five high profile recruits, including three junior faculty members, Edward Miao PhD, Maureen Su MD PhD, and 
Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta PhD, and two senior recruits from the Cell and Gene Therapy Program at Baylor 
University of Medicine, Gianpietro Dotti MD and Barbara Savoldo MD PhD have joined the program since the 
last submission. The program is led by Jenny Ting PhD Kenan Professor of Genetics and the leader of the 
Translational Immunology Center at the University of North Carolina who is a world's expert on the function of 
proteins that mediate innate immune responses, and Jonathan Serody MD Thomas Professor of Medicine, 
Microbiology and Immunology and the Associate Director for Translational Sciences in the Cancer Center who 
is an expert on the biology of GVHD and tumor vaccines and the tumor microenvironment. There are 19 
program members from five different departments in the Medical School. During the last funding period, 
program members have published 406 cancer-related articles (28% collaborative). In 2014, our program 
members held 58 grants and $17.7M (total cost) in annual extramural funding, including 6 grants and $1.7M 
(total costs) from the NCI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9834871
- **Project number:** 5P30CA016086-44
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jonathan S. Serody
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $39,439
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9834871

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9834871, Immunology Research Program (Program 2) (5P30CA016086-44). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9834871. Licensed CC0.

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