The immune system plays a critical role in mediating a number of disease processes, including the development of cancers through immune suppression and autoimmunity by overzealous immune activation. Our lab is dedicated to investigating strategies that fine-tune the immune response to improve both treatment safety and efficacy for patients. We are particularly interested in the mechanism by which cancer immunotherapies, which have been shown to improve patient survival across multiple cancer types, cause a broad range of autoimmune side-effects. We interrogate clinical samples for biomarkers of irAE susceptibility and have developed unique preclinical models, such as novel transplantable tumors for use in autoimmune-prone mice, to further our understanding of immune regulation in these different disease contexts.

We have graduate student projects available that aim to understand; 1) whether immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced autoimmune side-effects may be inhibited without affecting the therapeutic response towards tumors, 2) combinatorial immunotherapeutic strategies to reinvigorate the anti-tumor immune response without initiating immune-related side-effects, and 3) the influence of environmental components (such as microbiome and diet) towards both anti-tumor immunity and autoimmunity. Together, these integrated immunological model systems will allow us to engineer better therapeutic strategies for clinical utility.

Dr. Young provides mentorship for high school students, undergraduates and graduate students both in the United States and in Australia. Her lab environment promotes independent-thinking, and encourages new areas of interdisciplinary translational research driven by collaborative opportunities.