Sophie Paczesny, M.D., Ph.D.
Understanding the mechanisms that regulate anti-cancer functions of immune cells and immune tolerance
Research Interest
I serve as a Co-Leader of the Cancer Biology and Immunology Program for the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center . I am a physician scientist pediatric hematologist with over 17 years research and training experience in immune-monitoring, immunotherapies, and biology of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). My career focus is on both immunologic biomarker and cancer immune therapies. I have had consistent funding and publications in biomarkers for complications of therapies for cancer [i.e., graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)] as well as mechanistic studies in GVHD. I have worked on translation to novel immune therapies including development of small molecule inhibitors. My laboratory research is using advanced proteomics technology, and human studies, and laboratory research using in vivo experimental models to understand the biology of the discovered biomarkers. I have a commitment to the training of the next generation of physician scientists/translational scientists with a long track-record of mentoring. I am the PI on U01/R01s/R21, and PI/co-Investigator on several team science NIH-funded grants as well as foundation grants.