| Talk title | Deciphering Enhancer Regulation of Tumor Immune Evasion to Develop New Combination Immunotherapies |
| Speaker | Prof. Alfred Szelok CHENG Associate Professor |
| Date & Time | 20 March 2019 (Wed) 14:30-15:30 |
| Venue | Room G003, E12 Building (University of Macau) |
| Abstract | Understanding of cancer epigenome provides new opportunities to rewire transcriptional programs that drive hallmark tumor traits. Transcriptional enhancers are distal regulatory elements that drive lineage-specific gene expressions. Genetic and epigenetic alterations of these non-coding sequences have emerged as common molecular traits of various human cancers. Recent high-dimensional omics studies in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have emphasized on much importance for the strong immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment that counteracts the activation and infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes into the tumor. In spite of these substantial progress, new avenues have stemmed that necessitate addressing in order to fully exploit the epigenetic vulnerabilities for HCC therapy. In this talk, I hence intend to describe our investigative scope from HCC cell epigenetics to enhancer regulation of tumor immune evasion. Based on our discoveries, we have developed mechanism-based combination immunotherapies that are supported by pharmacological proof-of-concept using preclinical models. Our dedicated and multi-disciplinary team is united behind our vision to empower cancer immunotherapy for the elimination of HCC. |