Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes able to kill malignant cells. The inborn ability to lyse transformed cells renders NK cells an attractive tool for cancer immunotherapy.
The NK cell symposium brings together research groups who focus on understanding different aspects of NK cell biology.
The groups of Eva König (CCRI), Dagmar Gotthardt (VetMedUni) and Dagmar Stoiber-Sakaguchi (NK cell team led by Agnieszka Witalisz-Siepracka) will present their current research.
The highlight of the symposium is the talk by Dr. Dietmar Herndler Brandstetter, an expert in tumor immunology.
Program:
Chairs: Pharmacology group
9.00-9.15 Opening
Session I
9.15-9.45 Theresa Harm - Uncovering NK cell checkpoints in triple negative breast cancer
9.45-10.15 Agnieszka Witalisz-Siepracka – The role of NK cells in myeloproliferative neoplasms
10.15-10.35 Clio-Melina Sperl - STAT3 in AML escape from NK cell surveillance
10.35-11.00 Coffee break
11.00-11.45 Key note speaker: Dietmar Herndler-Brandstetter – NK cell-targeted cancer therapy in humanized mice
Dietmar Herndler-Brandstetter studied Pharmacy at the University of Innsbruck. After he completed his PhD he continued his research at the University of Birmingham (UK) and further as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Richard A. Flavell at the University of Yale (USA). Since 2018 he is a group leader (Translational Tumor Immunology) at the Institute for Cancer Research at the Medical University, Vienna. His main interests cover the role of immune system in tumor development and metastasis as well as immune therapies.
12.00-13.00 Lunch
Session II
13.00-13.30 Julia List - The role of Ink4a/Arf in NK cell leukemia
13.30-13.50 Angela Hiesinger - The role of hyperactive STAT5B in natural killer cells
13.50-14.10 Sophie Huszarek - Pharmacological targets to modulate NK cell cytotoxicity
14.10-14.45 Coffee break
Session III
14.45-15.15 Michelle Buri - Revealing unknown evasion mechanisms of leukemic cells from natural killer cells
15.15-15.45 Faith David - Finding novel molecular targets to improve natural killer cell-based therapies to treat leukemia
15.45-16.15 Hayeon Baik - The role of serine/threonine kinase 38 (STK38) in natural killer cells