Katherine Chiappinelli, PhD

2024 Collaborative Research Development Grant

The George Washington University
Combining epigenetic therapy and multi-antigen-specific T cells to treat ovarian cancer

Project Summary
Ovarian cancer is an aggressive malignancy that has not responded to available immunotherapies. Ovarian cancer is characterized by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and does not have enough T cells to recognize and kill the cancer cells. Our Aims will 1) administer antigen-specific T cells and 2) use epigenetic therapy to transform the tumor microenvironment to cure ovarian cancer.

Bio
Kate Chiappinelli is an Associate Professor with tenure in the George Washington University Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine and the GW Cancer Center, where she started her independent laboratory in 2017. Dr. Chiappinelli received her PhD from Washington University in St. Louis and pursued postdoctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University with Dr. Stephen Baylin where she and her colleagues discovered that inhibiting DNA methylation causes an immune response in cancer through transcription of transposable element RNA. Her independent laboratory studies the epigenetic changes in cancer and how epigenetic drugs can reverse these, specifically focusing on noncoding regions of the genome and the anti-tumor immune response. A major focus of her research is epigenetic regulation of transposable elements in cancer and how they contribute to innate immunity. A translational goal of this work is learning how to optimally combine epigenetic and immune therapies to fight cancer, with a focus on ovarian cancer. Kate is passionate about community science outreach, with extensive experience working with high school students in St. Louis, Baltimore, and Washington, DC to introduce them to hands-on science.