Every Monday from 1pm – 2pm notable cancer researchers, clinicians, nurses and other experts from around the globe share their insights, research or news on a broad range of topics at the VCCC Alliance Monday Lunch Live forum.

The following area contains all our recordings from 2020. 

Novel Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells for Adult and Paediatric Glioma.

Monday Lunch Livestream

With Associate Professor Misty Jenkins

5 October 2020

Hear from the leading scientist who is rewriting the future of brain cancer with revolutionary new T Cell therapies and cutting-edge cancer science.

New approaches to treating high grade gliomas are urgently required. Chimeric antigen receptor CAR T cell immunotherapy provides an exciting new approach to enhance brain cancer survival rates.

This talk covers the generation and testing of two novel chimeric antigen receptor T cells. The first targets EGFRvIII, which serves as an attractive therapeutic target for glioblastoma given its exquisitely tumour specific expression.

The talk also provides exciting evidence of an efficacious and novel EGFRvIII-specific CAR T cells which induced potent and complete tumour regression in mouse models of glioblastoma. This preclinical study will form the foundation for further clinical studies to address the potential for this single chain antibody to be used clinically to address the urgent need in patients with malignant glioma. The second target are CAR T cells recognising a peptide MHC target for paediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Associate Professor Misty Jenkins 

Associate Professor Misty Jenkins is a NHMRC fellow and laboratory head in the Immunology Division at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, where she researches cellular immunology and cancer immunotherapy. Misty completed her PhD in immunology at The University of Melbourne, followed by postdoctoral positions at The Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Misty has a long-standing interest in CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity, and the immune synapse and her current research program researches the use of immunotherapy for brain cancer. Misty was awarded the L’Oreal for Women in Science Fellowship (2013), was Tall Poppy of the year (2015), was awarded the Westpac Australian Financial Review Top 100 Women of Influence (2016). In addition to her research career she is experienced in governance and is a Board Director for Monash Health and Co-Chair of the Indigenous Health Medical Research Future Fund.