Patrick Innamarato, PhD

My name is Dr. Patrick Innamarato. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University in 2013. I then pursued and earned my PhD in Cancer Biology in 2020 at the University of South Florida in affiliation with the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. My graduate studies in the Dr. Shari Pilon-Thomas laboratory focused on understanding the mechanisms of immunosuppression in melanoma patients that receive adoptive T cell therapies. Using mouse models and patient specimens, my research described how interactions between immunosuppressive myeloid cells restrains the anti-tumor activity of adoptively transferred T cells which is associated with poor patient outcomes in clinical trials conducted at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Upon completing my PhD in the Pilon-Thomas laboratory, I accepted a position as a post-doctoral researcher in the Dr. Jose Conejo-Garcia laboratory. My current research is focused on demonstrating the immunogenicity of ovarian cancer. Specifically, my work is centered on describing mechanisms by which cellular stress regulates the expression of immunogenic targets in tumor cells. This research will elucidate how dominant antigens presented by ovarian tumor cells are regulated and lead to the recognition by T cells, providing a fundamental understanding of how spontaneous immune pressure within tumors can restrain malignant progression. This research will also reveal novel targets in tumor cells that can guide the development of novel immunotherapies for ovarian cancer and potentially other tumor types.