HANKS LAB
Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy
Image Credit: Alpine BioVentures
Image Credit: Alpine BioVentures
Mission
We are interested in understanding the mechanisms that cancers have evolved to suppress the generation of tumor antigen-specific immune responses and how this knowledge can be exploited for the development of novel and more effective cancer immunotherapy strategies. This work involves the utilization of both autochthonous transgenic tumor model systems as well as clinical specimens to develop novel strategies to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies while also developing predictive biomarkers to better guide the management of cancer patients with these agents. We strive to translate our understanding of the fundamental biochemical and metabolic pathways within the tumor microenvironment that are critical for driving immune evasion and resistance into early phase clinical trial testing.
Research
Our work utilizes a variety of techniques and methodologies that span the breadth of basic biological research. This work integrates studies based on both 1) transgenic mouse tumor models that are monitored using bioluminescence and micro-CT imaging, 2) a variety of clinical specimens, and 3) various bioinformatic approaches.
Our current areas of focus include:
“The new study in mice and human tissue points to a strategy for inhibiting hyper-progression, potentially benefitting an estimated 10% of cancer patients who undergo this devastating complication from checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapies."
“Duke Cancer Institute researchers have identified potential biomarkers that predict the likelihood for checkpoint inhibitor drugs to backfire, driving hyper-progression of melanoma cells instead of unleashing the immune system to fight them."
“Less chemo, more targeted immunotherapy for all types of cancer: that’s the dream of cancer researchers today. Brent Hanks, MD, PhD, and April Salama, MD, associate professors in the division of Medical Oncology, are on the leading edge of helping to make that dream a reality for stage four melanoma patients."
“Duke Cancer Institute physician-scientist Brent Hanks, MD, PhD — associate director of Translational Science for DCI’s Melanoma Disease Group and director of the Hanks Lab — has received the 2021 Conquer Cancer- Bristol-Myers Squibb Advanced Clinical Research Award in Immune Checkpoint Therapy."
“Lab studies show promise for a clinical trial aimed at improving current immune therapies"
“Death is no longer a foregone conclusion of stage 4 melanoma. We’re extending survival and turning melanoma into more of a chronic disease."
Lab Updates
Based on work led by Dr. Nick DeVito, this award will support for studies focused on the role of the Gli2 pathway in immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance in melanoma.
https://melanoma.org/funded-research/role-of-the-gli2-pathway-in-melanoma-immunotherapy-resistance
Based on work led by Dr. Bala Thievanthiran, this funding will support further studies investigating the underlying mechanisms of immunotherapy-associated toxicities. https://www.cancerresearch.org/cri-funded-scientists/brent-a-hanks-m-d-ph-d
Kaylee has joined the Hanks Lab to support many aspects of lab operations including clinical specimen acquisition and processing as well as mouse breeding and colony management. She will also be taking an active role in studies related to the Gli2 pathway in immune evasion as well as on the role of various inflammasomes in driving immunotherapy resistance.
We are delighted that Dr. Xue is joining the Hanks Lab to support and extend our studies focused on understanding how cancers suppress anti-tumor immunity by inducing dendritic cell tolerization.
Dr. DeVito has received a 3-year Strong Start Award from the Duke School of Medicine to support ongoing studies focused on the role of EMT in driving immune evasion and immunotherapy resistance in colon cancer
Dr. Michael Plebanek was awarded the 2021 Duke Cancer Institute Research Retreat Bell Award for his work on characterizing a novel population of tolerogenic dendritic cells associated with a variety of cancers
The 2021 Fund to Retain Physician Scientists Award will support ongoing work examining the role of EMT in tumor-mediated immune evasion.
Dr. Thievanthiran was awarded a 2021 NIH/NCI Diversity Supplement Award to support his ongoing work characterizing a tumor-intrinsic adaptive resistance pathway to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy involving the NLRP3 inflammasome.
Dr. Yarla will be expanding the labs' efforts in investigating immunotherapy resistance mechanisms in melanoma and the gastrointestinal malignancies.
Linda is currently a Duke undergraduate student in the Biology and Global Health Programs. She will provide key support to the lab while also spearheading her own project in tumor immunology.
Y-Van is a recent graduate from the Biology program at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. She will play a major role in supporting our work in tumor-mediated dendritic cell tolerogenesis.
The Hanks Lab has been awarded the 2021 Advanced Clinical Research Award in Tumor Immunotherapy to investigate the role of the tumor NLRP3 inflammasome in immunotherapy resistance based on an upcoming investigator-initiated clinical trial in anti-PD-1-resistant melanoma conducted in collaboration with Dr. April Salama.
Publications
Meeting Abstracts and Presentations
Lab Members
Principal Investigator
Medical Instructor
Research Scientist
Post-doctoral Associate
Laboratory Research Analyst I
Post-Doctoral Associate
Post-doctoral Associate
Graduate Student
Research Technician I
Undergraduate Researcher
Lab Alumni
Visiting Scholar
2021 - 2022
Undergraduate Researcher
2018 - 2021
Research Technician
2018 - 2020
Visiting Scholar
2019 - 2020
Lab Manager
2013 - 2020
Research Technician II
2015 - 2018
Undergraduate Researcher
2017 - 2018
Post-doctoral Associate
2014 - 2018