Guest Research Spotlight: Dr. Roddy O’Connor of the University of Pennsylvania

2 Aug 2018
GuestResearch

In this research spotlight, we feature Dr. Roddy O’Connor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. O’Connor works closely with CAR-T luminaries such as Carl June, and now leads his own T cell therapy research team.

 

As CAR-T cell therapies clear the clinic and become commercially available, advances are needed to safely and effectively improve production methods. Numerous studies have shown that the clinical efficacy of T cell therapy is tied to the maturation stage of the infused cells. Naïve and central memory T cells (see figure below) have superior expansion capability, greater in vivo persistence and reduced exhaustion leading to enhanced therapeutic performance.

Even a small increase in the activity of an infusion could save many lives. In this application note, Dr. O’Connor describes an exciting new method for preserving clinically beneficial T cell phenotypes. Download your free copy to learn his methods and findings!

T cell phenotype - CCR7 and CD45RO expression

Short on time?
Watch these two summary webinars showcasing Dr. O’Connor’s work:

Preserving T cell naivety via a novel media supplementation strategy

Download the full application note

Consent
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Share this article

Roddy O'Connor, B.Sc., M.S., Ph.D.
Dr. Roddy O'Connor is a Research Assistant Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and, also serves as the Scientific Advisor for Nucleus Biologics. He is a highly regarded expert in CAR-T cell metabolism. His research emphasizes novel conditioning strategies and genetic approaches to confer unique metabolic attributes to CAR T cells. Dr. O’Connor earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Emory University School of Medicine and later did his postdoctoral research in Cancer Biology and T cell immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania.