Peter Stern Email & Phone Number

Our fundamental (and patient-directed) research has been focused on exploiting tumour associated molecules as targets for therapies particularly by harnessing the body’s immune system. In order to translate laboratory discoveries into effective clinical therapies, partnerships involving scientific and clinical researchers as well as the commercial sector are pivotal. The focus of the latter is on development of novel immunotherapies with a particular interest in cellular based therapies, genetic vaccines and antibodies. Thus our preclinical studies have driven the initiation of clinical trial activity highlighting the translational interface that exists from target discovery through to later stage Phase II and III trials.A key theme of Immunology has been the investigation of shared properties of developmental tissues and cancer cells with a view to identifying new targets for diagnosis, prognosis or therapy. One particular success has been the characterisation and exploitation of 5T4 oncotrophoblast antigen which was discovered while searching for molecules with invasive properties likely to be shared by trophoblast (part of the placenta) and cancer cells. The 5T4 antigen is a transmembrane glycoprotein overexpressed by a wide spectrum of cancers, but has only limited expression in normal tissue and as such represents a rational target for cancer immunotherapy. We have successfully evaluated several immunotherapies in preclinical models enabling early clinical trials of Trovax®, a 5T4 vaccine and Anyara®, a 5T4 antibody based superantigen therapy; both are now in late phase clinical trials. Ongoing studies of both animal model and human immune responses to 5T4 antigen are aimed at improving both vaccine and antibody delivered therapies for cancer. See: Stern PL, Brazzatti J, Sawan, S, Wan Y-L and McGinn O. (2014) Understanding & exploiting 5T4 oncofoetal glycoprotein expression. Seminars in Cancer Biology in press

Listed skills include Molecular Biology, Immunology, Cancer, Cancer Research, and 14 others.