Kandalaft Lab members

Research associate CONTACT ME

Research interest

My years of experience in research developed my scientific knowledge on T cell immunity and the mechanisms of immune evasion developed by cancers after therapy. I am particularly interested in better understanding the interactions between tumors and immune cells and the discovery of cancer immunotherapies that enhance antitumor T cell responses. My current work focus on the development of cell-based therapeutic cancer vaccines in mouse models and the investigation of their potential translation to the clinic for the benefit of cancer patients.

Background

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Life Science and a Master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6 (Paris, France). I obtained a second Master’s degree in Biology and Health at the University Paris-Est / Paris 12 (Creteil, France). I received a PhD in Immunology in 2015 at the University of Bourgogne-Franche Comté, in the laboratory INSERM UMR1098 RIGHT (Besançon, France), where I studied the modulation of the immunosuppressive CD4 regulatory T cells and the antitumor Th1 CD4 T cells induced by mTOR inhibitors, both in cancer patients and murine models. I was then a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL in the laboratory of Prof. Huelsken (Lausanne, Switzerland), where I investigated the intrinsic mechanisms used by cancer cells to escape cancer immunotherapies, and the role of T cells in cancer cell plasticity.

PhD student CONTACT ME

Research interest

My PhD thesis focuses on developing a novel and personalized therapeutic vaccine against ovarian cancer and melanoma using autologous B cells.

Background

I obtained both my Bachelor's of Science in biotechnology and my Master's in medical biotechnologies at the University of Siena (Italy). I joined the laboratory of Pr Lana Kandalaft as a PhD student in April 2022.

Research associate CONTACT ME

Research interest

My current research interests focus on: i) investigating the impact and mechanisms of HOCl in improving the immunogenicity of cancer antigens; ii) developing a novel platform and pipeline for a therapeutic cancer vaccine and iii) identifying immunomodulatory effects of key metabolites and their impact on the therapeutic efficacy of DC-based cancer vaccines. 

Background

I hold a Bachelor’s in Chemistry from the University of Padua and a Master’s in Chemistry of Biological Systems from the University of La Sapienza, Rome. I received a PhD in Cell Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Leicester studying P. falciparum kinases as novel drug targets against malaria. I was also a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, conducting a high-throughput screening aimed at identifying novel modulators of centriole duplication and cancer cell division.

Technician CONTACT ME

Research interest

My interest is in advanced science capable of improving our patients’ lives.

Background

I did my apprenticeship as a laboratory technician at Novartis. Prior to joining the Department of oncology UNIL CHUV, I worked for five years on research into blood cancers at the Inselspital in Bern.

PhD student CONTACT ME

Research interest

My PhD thesis focuses on the development of a novel B cell-based vaccine for metastatic solid cancers.

Background

I hold a Bachelor’s in Medical Laboratory Sciences and a Master’s in Biological Sciences from the American University of Beirut. I started my PhD in the lab of Pr Lana Kandalaft in February 2022. 

Postdoctoral researcher CONTACT ME

Research interest

I am currently in charge of pre-clinical and clinical projects investigating the immunological signatures of interventional radiology treatments in cancer, with an aim of expanding the IR’s applicative horizons beyond local therapies.

Background

I hold a PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Zurich, and have a decade of experience in the fields of cellular immunology and hematology.