Pre-Conference Deep-Dive Day

Tuesday | July 25, 2023

Make the most of your attendance and gain additional unrivaled insights on this pre-conference workshop day. Choose the topics more relevant to your work:

Unearthing the Mechanisms & Pathways Involved in Gamma Delta T Cell Cytotoxicity

7:45 am Coffee & Registration

8:45 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

9:00 am Panel Discussion: Contextualizing Gamma Delta T Cells in Immuno-Oncology Through Their Biology, Challenges & Advantages

Synopsis

  • Highlighting the unique advantages of gamma delta T cell combination therapies compared to other immune cells for cancer immunotherapy
  • Examining the potential activation and expansion obstacles in translating gamma delta T cells from preclinical findings to clinical applications
  • Ascertaining potential of recognizing a wide range of antigens, and targeting metabolic pathways in gamma delta T cells to enhance their anti-tumor activity

9:40 am Reviewing the Well-Characterized & Recently Described Activities of Gamma Delta T Cells

Synopsis

  • Defining the anti-tumor pathways and mechanisms of gamma delta T subsets
  • Identifying factors which elicit a pro-tumorigenic phenotype, and the mechanisms by which transformed cells can propagate tumorigenesis
  • Highlighting central dogmas, new discoveries, and remaining research to better characterize Gamma Delta T activity in vivo

10:20 am Characterizing Gamma Delta T Subsets & Their Distinct Biology to Determine Therapeutic Utility

  • Lawrence Lamb Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer, IN8Bio

Synopsis

  • Exploring the relationship between subsets and persistence and efficacy in different tumor types
  • Understanding what mediates homing and activation of different subsets
  • Characterizing the role of the gamma delta TCR in different subsets

11.00 am Morning Break & Refreshments

Mapping the Cell-Cell & Environmental Interactions of Gamma Delta T Cells to Understand Influences In Vivo

11:30 am Addressing Three Key Roadblocks in Gamma Delta T Cell Development to Leverage Biological Mechanisms of Action & Accelerate to the Clinic

Synopsis

  • Evaluating the cells’ intrinsic therapeutic window- discriminating healthy from diseased tissue
  • Measuring the cells’ durability: do they have stem cell-like traits for optimisation?
  • Extrapolating the cells’ applications beyond cancer: healing inflammatory disease hypothesis with clinical observations of cell mechanisms

12:10 pm Uncovering the In Vivo Tracking & Interactions of the Tumor Microenvironment with V9d2 Gamma Delta T Cells to Explain Inhibition, Activation & Exhaustion

  • Daniel Olive Team Leader, CCRM, Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Marseille

Synopsis

  • Studying the microdynamic changes in the tumor such as inflammation, cold tumor, and the impact on T cell infiltration and gamma delta T phenotype
  • Examining the mechanisms of T cell trafficking to tumor sites
  • Considering whether cells need to be activated in the tumor, or if therapy should increase the traffic to the tumor
  • Leveraging microdynamic exchanges in the tumor to optimize treatment

12:50 pm Introducing OptiALLO γδ T, a Novel vδ2 γδ T Cell Expansion Technology

  • Wei Liang Associate Director, Research & Development, Ansun Biopharma

Synopsis

  • Reviewing the current strategies for expanding γδ T cells
  • Introducing the OptiALLO γδ T cell process and its advantages in developing vδ2‐based cellular therapies
  • Characterizing the phenotypic and functional markers from cells produced by the OptiALLO γδ T cell process, related to their cytotoxicity, persistence, tumor specific homing and ability to combat the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment

1.30 pm Lunch & Networking

Novel Approaches & Analytical Practices to Capitalize on the Full Potential of Gamma Delta T Cells

2:30 pm Expanding and Engineering Gamma Delta T Cells to Express CARs

Synopsis

  • Exploring gamma delta activation mechanisms and how they can modulate other T cell mechanism-Exploring differences within the subsets for CAR expression
  • Recounting the methodology and reviewing the best approaches
  • Effectively evaluating therapeutic targets

3:10 pm Examining the Role of Gamma Delta Ts in Infectious Diseases to Identify Areas of Therapeutic Application Beyond Oncology

  • Sophie Agaugue Vice President - Preclinical Research, ImCheck Therapeutics

Synopsis

  • Outlining the mechanisms of action of gamma delta T cells in viral infection in vivo
  • Discussing opportunities to bring gamma delta T cells into therapeutic development beyond oncology and the challenges to overcome
  • Providing updates from clinical studies to support the rationale for non-oncology development

4:30 pm End of Deep-Dive Day