THE LECTURE HALL SERIES

Thursday, March 22nd, 2018 @ 7pm

Purdue University, LILY 1-105

(915 W. State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907)

Featuring: Targeting immune suppression in cancer

Guest Speaker: Erin M. Kischuk, Graduate Student

When thinking of cancer treatment, your first thought is probably of surgery and chemotherapy or radiation. However, cancer immunotherapy is a promising new area of research that is developing rapidly alongside our ever-increasing understanding of the immune system. My research focuses on a type of immune cell that actually helps tumors to grow.  They do this by stopping or suppressing other immune cells that are there to attack the cancerous cells. Our goal is to develop new drugs that will target these cells and reverse the immune suppression they cause. To accomplish this, we are using a novel combination of computer-based approaches and a mouse model of cancer.

Background: Erin completed a B.S. in biochemistry from Purdue University in 2010. Before pursuing PhD studies, she spent a year teaching high school mathematics in Indianapolis. She is currently training in Dr. Timothy Ratliff’s lab and has worked on several collaborative projects with other research groups on campus. Erin enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for science with others and plans to pursue a career in scientific communications.