Identification of KRAS-specific TCRs from human peripheral blood

The team developed an efficient platform to detect KRAS-specific T cells in the peripheral blood of patients with pancreatic cancer. Using a lentiviral expansion system combined with mutant KRAS peptides, they enabled high-throughput identification of KRAS-specific T-cell receptors from the blood of both pancreatic cancer patients and healthy individuals. Through in vitro stimulation and single-cell TCR analysis, the project will quantify both CD4 and CD8 KRAS-specific TCRs across patients with a variety of HLA haplotypes.

Jiao’s research focuses on understanding how immune cells respond to or resist checkpoint blockade, aiming to identify potent therapeutic strategies for controlling primary tumors and preventing metastasis. As a graduate student she engineered antibody-cytokine conjugates for local delivery of cytokine therapies to tumors. As a postdoctoral fellow in Stephanie Dougan’s lab — also a Sky advisory committee member — she works to discover novel strategies to reactivate dysfunctional T cells and improve responsiveness to immunotherapies for patients with pancreatic cancer.