Edward Roy’s lab is developing immunotherapies for brain tumors that are effective and selective, focused on T cell mediated immune responses. Using animal models, Roy’s lab explores the immune system, and how their murine system closely parallels the human immune system. With proper activation, the immune system has the characteristics of an ideal cancer therapy: the potent, precise killing of altered cells. But there is much to be learned about how to activate, direct, and control the immune response, particularly against tumors within the brain.
Roy is a Professor Emeritus of Pathology and of Molecular and Integrative Physiology. He trained in neuroscience at the University of Massachusetts and The Rockefeller University. He has been studying immunotherapy for brain cancer since 1993, focusing on the ability of T cells to target tumors. Roy’s lab collaborates on a number of projects with CCIL member, David Kranz, a T cell biochemist.