Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Network Shapes the Future Of Immunotherapy with Latest Research at AACR Annual Meeting 2026

PICI leaders, investigators, and collaborators contributing to nearly 100 posters, presentations, and panels throughout the meeting

SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), today announced that research and expertise from across its network will be showcased at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, taking place April 17- 22 in San Diego, California. PICI leaders, investigators, and collaborators are contributing to nearly 100 posters, presentations, and discussions throughout the program - demonstrating the depth and breadth of the network's contributions to the field of cancer immunotherapy.

Notably, PICI's newly appointed Chief of External Affairs Kristen Dahlgren is a co-chair of this year's Annual Meeting Program Committee. She will also chair an educational session on communicating beyond academic audiences and a forum designed to help attendees gain actionable insights to improve trial efficiency, broaden representation, and enhance the relevance and impact of their research. PICI is also unveiling the latest results from the RADIOHEAD cohort, with the largest plasma proteomics study of its kind for checkpoint inhibitor therapy, alongside new methylation-based tools for monitoring tumor dynamics.

Additionally, Antoni Ribas, Director of the PICI Center at UCLA, will be honored with the 2026 AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research. This award is presented annually to an individual whose leadership and extraordinary achievements in cancer research have made a major impact in the field.

"Cancer doesn't wait, and neither do the researchers of the PICI Network. The work our investigators are presenting at AACR 2026 - across cell therapies, resistance mechanisms, precision platforms and beyond - represents years of collaboration designed to move faster than any single institution could alone," said Dr. Knudsen. "Through our investigators and portfolio companies, we are developing and accelerating access to breakthrough cancer therapies and curating innovation from discovery to commercialization, with the vision of converting all cancers to curable diseases."

Presentation Highlights from the Network

Select highlights from across the network include:

• Kristen Dahlgren (PICI): Anatomy lesson: Finding the heart in your science (Saturday, April 18) and How survivor driven priorities can accelerate research innovation (Tuesday, April 21)
  
  
• Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD (PICI): Co-author of CBP/p300 and PARP inhibitor combination treatment synergistically enhances anti-tumor efficacy in models of advanced prostate cancer (Abstract 4047)
• • Oral Presentation, Monday, April 20 (O.I. Richter)

Translational Platforms & Liquid Biopsy

• John Connolly, PhD (PICI): High-throughput protein profiling applied to the RADIOHEAD cohort—the largest plasma proteomics study of patients receiving checkpoint inhibitor therapy (Abstract 6332)
  
  
• Samantha Liang (PICI): Methylation-based tumor fraction monitoring to identify patients who may benefit from comprehensive genomic profiling (Abstract 1122)
  
  
• Christopher Cabanski (PICI): Hierarchical modeling of methylation-based tumor fraction dynamics for pan-cancer immunotherapy response assessment (Abstract 690)

CAR T & Engineered Cell Therapies

• Crystal Mackall, MD (Stanford Medicine): Multiple presentations including IL-18 secreting CAR-T cells for antigen-heterogeneous solid tumors (Abstract 1351); targeting the oncofetal antigen GPC2 in medulloblastoma (Abstract 4009); and a longitudinal single-cell atlas of GD2-CAR T cell therapy in diffuse midline glioma (Abstract 6463)
  
  
• Carl June, MD (UPenn): Spatial profiling of recurrent glioblastoma in a Phase I CAR T trial (Abstract 3444) and spatial remodeling of the tumor microenvironment by IL-18-armored CD19 CAR T cells (Abstract 6470)
  
  
• Roddy O'Connor, PhD (UPenn): Metabolic fitness enhancement for CAR-T cells (Abstract 4272) and a novel nanoparticle platform for scalable adoptive immunotherapy manufacturing (Abstract 4291)
  
  
• Michael Milone, MD, PhD (UPenn): Novel SynKIR-310 platform outperforming CD3-based CAR T in lymphoma models (Abstract 5193)

In Vivo Gene Editing & CRISPR

• Alexander Marson, MD, PhD (Gladstone/UCSF): In vivo genome-wide CRISPR screens in human T cells for solid tumor therapy (Abstract 1532); virus-like particle-enabled gene engineering in primary human myeloid cells (Abstract 1580)

Tumor Microenvironment & Resistance

• David Barbie, MD (DFCI): Multiple presentations including next-generation immune engagers derived from reprogrammed E. coli (Abstract 4904); co-targeting EZH2 and TEAD in Hippo pathway-mutated cancers (Abstract 1850); and B7-H3 targeting in the SCLC tumor-immune microenvironment (Abstract 5603)
  
  
• Eli Van Allen, MD (DFCI): Six posters spanning bladder cancer resistance (Abstract 3458), myeloid-driven immunotherapy resistance in prostate cancer bone metastases (Abstract 4084), and tumor mass dormancy in melanoma (Abstract 3450)
  
  
• Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD (Weill Cornell Medicine): Tumor IDO1-driven resistance to adoptive cell transfer (Abstract 6537) and clinical strategies to enhance TIL therapy efficacy (Abstract 5624)

Neoantigens & TCR-Based Therapies

• Hideho Okada, MD, PhD (UCSF): Splicing-landscape-derived shared neoantigens in IDH-mutant gliomas (Abstract 462) and viral vector vaccination driving brain-resident memory T cells (Abstract 4363)
  
  
• Christopher Klebanoff, MD (MSK): Immunopeptidomic discovery of fetal WNT-associated antigen NKD1 for HLA-A2-restricted TCR-T therapy in microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer (Abstract 3714)

Pediatric & CNS Cancers

• Robbie Majzner, MD (DFCI): Ganglioside targeting for neuroblastoma (Abstract 7814)
  
  
• Kai Wucherpfennig, MD, PhD (DFCI): Pre-existing T cells driving durable anti-tumor immunity after oncolytic virus therapy in glioblastoma (Abstract 7743)

Breast Cancer & Solid Tumors

• Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD (DFCI): Age-stratified therapeutic strategies targeting chemoresistance and immunosuppression in triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract 6825)
  
  
• Lili Yang, PhD (UCLA): Three presentations advancing NKT cell therapy and nanoparticle-mediated disruption of tumor-nerve crosstalk in pancreatic cancer (Abstracts 4316, 153, 6384)
  
  
• Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD (MD Anderson): Peripheral immune profiling from the DIET trial in melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy (Abstract 6743)

Media Contact:
Kate Kaminsky 
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
475-213-3198
[email protected]

SOURCE Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy