Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, PhD
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
Current immunotherapy efforts focus on targeting proteins and nucleic acids. These efforts are highly promising but insufficient to fully realize the potential of immunotherapy for most patients. To achieve this potential, there is an urgent need to discover new, potent immunological targets. Recent advancements in the emerging field of glycoimmunologyhave revealed that several crucial immunological responses are mediated by glycans and their interactions with glycan-binding proteins (known as lectins). However, our understanding of how glycan-lectin interactions influence immunological functions during diseases, including cancer and viral infections, remains limited. Leveraging this knowledge could pave the way for developing novel and potent immunotherapies.

Our laboratory expertise in translational glycoimmunology to understand how host glycans regulate immunological signals during cancer and viral infections. Our work has resulted in several mechanistic discoveries and glyco-immunotherapeutic tools. This foundation uniquely positions us to explore the uncharted territory of immunotherapy targeting glycan modifications to address a range of immune-centric diseases, including cancer and viral infections.