School of Biomedical Sciences cordially invites you to join the following seminar:

Speaker: Professor Ping-Chih Ho, Professor of the University of Lausanne, Full Member of Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Talk Title: Reprogramming the HCC tumor microenvironment for therapy with a single punch

Date: 3 March 2025 (Monday)
Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road
Host: Professor Heidi Ling

Biography

Ping-Chih Ho grew up in Taiwan and obtained his basic biomedical training at National Taiwan University. He then obtained his PhD in Department of Pharmacology at University of Minnesota. Ping-Chih then did postdoctoral training with Susan Kaech at Yale University, where he demonstrated how cancer cells evade T cell immunosurveillance by depriving infiltrating T cells of glucose, which is consumed in large amounts by malignant cells. Ping-Chih currently is a full professor at the University of Lausanne and a full member at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

Abstract

Tumor cells develop various strategies to evade immune surveillance, one of which is the modulation of the metabolic state of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In response to metabolic stress in the TME, several tumor-infiltrating immune subsets upregulate CD36 to take up lipids. This leads to impaired anti-tumor immunity, as intratumoral regulatory T cells (Tregs) exhibit increased survival and suppressive activity, while CD8+ T cells become more susceptible to ferroptosis and exhaustion. Here, I will discuss how we can leverage this for developing therapeutic strategies in reprogramming HCC tumor microenvironment and potential treatments.

ALL ARE WELCOME.