Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology
Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology
The Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology (CCTCI) is building a new model for immune-based medicine. Based at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and integrated with UT Southwestern’s research and health system, CCTCI brings together scientists, physicians, engineers, and translational teams with a shared goal: to move discoveries from patient biology to engineered therapies, first-in-human trials, and better outcomes for patients.
Mission
Our work begins with patients. By studying how immune cells naturally recognize, adapt to, and fight disease, we uncover the features that make certain immune responses powerful and the defects that allow cancer and autoimmune disease to progress. We then use those insights to engineer next-generation cellular therapies designed to detect, attack, and overcome disease more effectively.
Building Stronger Therapeutic T Cells
Foundational work from the Choi lab examined 71 mutations naturally selected in T-cell cancers to determine whether any could improve the performance of therapeutic T cells. The researchers identified a CARD11–PIK3R3 fusion that enhanced antitumor activity in several treatment-resistant preclinical models. The study illustrates a central scientific strategy for CCTCI: identify exceptional immune behavior in human disease, isolate the mechanism responsible, and rebuild that mechanism as a controlled therapeutic feature.
Our Science
The Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology begins with the biology of patients. Using genomics, single-cell and spatial profiling, functional screens, and computational modeling, our investigators define the immune-cell states and molecular circuits that determine whether immunity recognizes disease, persists under pressure, becomes exhausted, or turns against healthy tissue. Bringing together immunologists with experts in cell, protein, genome, epigenome, and chemical engineering, CCTCI translates these biological insights into next-generation immunotherapies.
Meet the Director
Inaugural Director of the Center for Cellular Therapies and Cancer Immunology
Vice Chair for Translational Research and Innovation
Dermatology
Scheryle Simmons Patigian Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology
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