Professor Paula Nunes-Hasler awarded INNOGAP and INNOSSUISE grants for groundbreaking T Cell Research
Professor Paula Nunes-Hasler, Assistant Professor at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, has been awarded INNOGAP and INNOSUISSE grants to advance research on ImmuneCell Booster compounds, a promising new approach to accelerating T cell-based research and therapies.
T cells play a crucial role in fighting infections and cancer, but their activation is tightly regulated by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), particularly dendritic cells (DCs). Professor Nunes-Hasler’s team discovered a key signalling pathway that enhances DC-driven T cell activation. Building on this, they identified small molecules that significantly boost T cell responses—some by up to 20-fold in human cell cultures—leading to a patent application.
Early findings suggest these compounds not only enhance T cell detection and expansion but also improve anti-cancer immunotherapies. In melanoma models, two compounds reduced tumour growth by 50%, mobilizing a broader immune response.
The INNOGAP funding will be instrumental in validating these findings in human cells, optimizing their use, and benchmarking their effectiveness in vaccine research applications, whereas INNOSUISSE funding will advance their use in producing more effective T cell-based immunotherapies against cancer. This breakthrough could have far-reaching implications for vaccine development, autoimmunity, and cancer treatment.
Stay tuned for updates as Professor Nunes-Hasler and the team push the boundaries of immune research!
News on the INNOGAP website: https://www.unige.ch/unitec/presentation/fonds-innogap/innogap-projets-finances/projetsfinances