Research:

Keywords: Cancer vaccines, T cell receptors (TCRs), Cancer immunotherapy, Liver cancer

Research Activities

Investigating mechanisms of immunodominance in multi-antigen therapeutic cancer vaccines. 

Identifying and characterizing TCRs with specificity for “public” neoantigens derived from shared oncogenic mutations.

Defining mechanisms of immune resistance in liver cancers through integrated analyses of patient biospecimens and preclinical models.

Evaluating novel immunotherapeutic combinations and vaccine approaches in orthotopic models of hepatobiliary cancer.

Summary of Research Program

My research focuses on translational cancer immunotherapy, with a particular emphasis on developing novel treatments for liver cancers. My program integrates biospecimen analyses from clinical trials with mechanistic studies in preclinical models to identify and overcome barriers to effective antitumor immunity. I co-lead the Johns Hopkins Immunotherapy Biobank, an institutional initiative to collect longitudinal human biospecimens to uncover mechanisms driving both response and resistance to modern immunotherapies. In parallel, my laboratory evaluates new classes of immunotherapies and vaccine strategies in orthotopic mouse models of hepatobiliary cancer, with the goal of advancing promising approaches into clinical testing.

Publications and Interests: http://• https://pure.johnshopkins.edu/en/persons/mark-yarchoan