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Shari  Pilon-Thomas

Shari Pilon-Thomas, PhD

Program: Immunology

Research Program: Immuno-Oncology Program

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  • Overview

    Dr. Pilon-Thomas’ primary research focus is on the enhancement of anti-tumor immune responses through the use of vaccines or adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) for the treatment of solid tumors. 

    Associations

    • Cutaneous Oncology
    • Immunology
    • Genitourinary Oncology
    • Immunology
    • Immuno-Oncology Program
    • Center for Immunization & Infection Research in Cancer
    • Melanoma & Skin Cancer Center of Excellence

    Education & Training

    Graduate:

    • Wayne State University, PhD - Immunology/Microbiology

    Fellowship:

    • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Surgery, Tumor Immunology, Immunotherapy
  • Research Interest

    Dr. Pilon-Thomas’ primary research focus is on the enhancement of anti-tumor immune responses through the use of vaccines or adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) for the treatment of solid tumors.  ACT with TIL is a promising form of T cell-based immunotherapy. The premise behind this approach is that upon isolation and expansion of tumor-reactive T cells, those T cells can be transferred back to the patient as an immunotherapy.  Moffitt Cancer Center is one of the few cancer centers to offer TIL-based T cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors.  Treatment with TIL therapy has resulted in a 40% response rate in metastatic melanoma patients. The goal of the lab is to improve TIL-based therapies and translate findings into TIL-based clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors, including melanoma, sarcoma, bladder and HPV+ tumors.  

  • Publications

    • Jardim-Perassi BV, Irrera P, Oluwatola OE, Abrahams D, Estrella VC, Ordway B, Byrne SR, Ojeda AA, Whelan CJ, Kim J, Beatty MS, Damgaci-Erturk S, Longo DL, Gaspar KJ, Siegers GM, Centeno BA, Lau JYC, Pilon-Thomas SA, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Gillies RJ. L-DOS47 Elevates Pancreatic Cancer Tumor pH and Enhances Response to Immunotherapy. Biomedicines. 2024 Feb.12(2). Pubmedid: 38398062. Pmcid: PMC10886509.
    • Elmarsafawi AG, Hesterberg RS, Fernandez MR, Yang C, Darville LN, Liu M, Koomen JM, Phanstiel Iv O, Atkins R, Mullinax JE, Pilon-Thomas SA, Locke FL, Epling-Burnette PK, Cleveland JL. Modulating the polyamine/hypusine axis controls generation of CD8+ tissue-resident memory T cells. JCI Insight. 2023 Sep.8(18). Pubmedid: 37581943. Pmcid: PMC10561731.
    • Hall MS, Teer JK, Yu X, Branthoover H, Snedal S, Rodriguez-Valentin M, Nagle L, Scott E, Schachner B, Innamarato P, Hall AM, Blauvelt J, Rich CJ, Richards AD, Ceccarelli J, Langer TJ, Yoder SJ, Beatty MS, Cox CA, Messina JL, Abate-Daga D, Mule JJ, Mullinax JE, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Neoantigen-specific CD4+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are potent effectors identified within adoptive cell therapy products for metastatic melanoma patients. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Oct.11(10). Pubmedid: 37802604. Pmcid: PMC10565316.
    • Bazargan S, Bunch B, Ojwang' AME, Blauvelt J, Landin A, Ali J, Abrahams D, Cox C, Hall AM, Beatty MS, Poch M, Rejniak KA, Pilon-Thomas S. Targeting myeloid-derived suppressor cells with gemcitabine to enhance efficacy of adoptive cell therapy in bladder cancer. Front Immunol. 2023 Oct.14:1275375. Pubmedid: 37901214. Pmcid: PMC10602731.
    • Falahat R, Berglund A, Perez-Villarroel P, Putney RM, Hamaidi I, Kim S, Pilon-Thomas S, Barber GN, Mulé JJ. Epigenetic state determines the in vivo efficacy of STING agonist therapy. Nat Commun. 2023 Mar.14(1):1573. Pubmedid: 36949064. Pmcid: PMC10033671.
    • Giuliano A, Kuter B, Pilon-Thomas S, Whiting J, Mo Q, Leav B, Sirak B, Cubitt C, Dukes C, Isaacs-Soriano K, Kennedy K, Ball S, Dong N, Jain A, Hwu P, Lancet J. Safety and immunogenicity of a third dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine among cancer patients. Cancer Commun (Lond). 2023 Jul.43(7):749-764. Pubmedid: 37377402. Pmcid: PMC10354405.
    • Jardim-Perassi BV, Irrera P, Lau JYC, Budzevich M, Whelan CJ, Abrahams D, Ruiz E, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Damgaci Erturk S, Longo DL, Pilon-Thomas SA, Gillies RJ. Intraperitoneal Delivery of Iopamidol to Assess Extracellular pH of Orthotopic Pancreatic Tumor Model by CEST-MRI. Contrast Media Mol Imaging. 2023 Jan.2023:1944970. Pubmedid: 36704211. Pmcid: PMC9836819.
    • Lester DK, Burton C, Gardner A, Innamarato P, Kodumudi K, Liu Q, Adhikari E, Ming Q, Williamson DB, Frederick DT, Sharova T, White MG, Markowitz J, Cao B, Nguyen J, Johnson J, Beatty M, Mockabee-Macias A, Mercurio M, Watson G, Chen PL, McCarthy S, MoranSegura C, Messina J, Thomas KL, Darville L, Izumi V, Koomen JM, Pilon-Thomas SA, Ruffell B, Luca VC, Haltiwanger RS, Wang X, Wargo JA, Boland GM, Lau EK. Fucosylation of HLA-DRB1 regulates CD4+ T cell-mediated anti-melanoma immunity and enhances immunotherapy efficacy. Nat Cancer. 2023 Feb.4(2):222-239. Pubmedid: 36690875. Pmcid: PMC9970875.
    • Dukes CW, Potez M, Lancet J, Kuter BJ, Whiting J, Mo Q, Leav B, Wang H, Vanas JS, Cubitt CL, Isaacs-Soriano K, Kennedy K, Rathwell J, Diaz Cobo J, O'Nan W, Sirak B, Dong N, Tan E, Hwu P, Giuliano AR, Pilon-Thomas S. Neutralizing Antibody Response following a Third Dose of the mRNA-1273 Vaccine among Cancer Patients. Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Dec.12(1). Pubmedid: 38250826. Pmcid: PMC10818923.
    • Khaled ML, Ren Y, Kundalia R, Alhaddad H, Chen Z, Wallace GC, Evernden B, Ospina OE, Hall M, Liu M, Darville LNF, Izumi V, Chen YA, Pilon-Thomas S, Stewart PA, Koomen JM, Corallo SA, Jain MD, Robinson TJ, Locke FL, Forsyth PA, Smalley I. Branched-chain keto acids promote an immune-suppressive and neurodegenerative microenvironment in leptomeningeal disease. bioRxiv. 2023 Dec. Pubmedid: 38187773. Pmcid: PMC10769272.
    • Dukes CW, Rossetti RA, Hensel JA, Snedal S, Cubitt CL, Schell MJ, Abrahamsen M, Isaacs-Soriano K, Kennedy K, Mangual LN, Whiting J, Martinez-Brockhus V, Islam JY, Rathwell J, Beatty M, Hall AM, Abate-Daga D, Giuliano AR, Pilon-Thomas S. SARS-CoV-2 antibody response duration and neutralization following natural infection. J Clin Virol Plus. 2023 Aug.3(3). Pubmedid: 37654784. Pmcid: PMC10470471.
    • Gallen C, Dukes CW, Aldrich A, Macaisa L, Mo Q, Cubitt CL, Pilon-Thomas S, Giuliano AR, Czerniecki BJ, Costa RLB. Long-Term CD4+ T-Cell and Immunoglobulin G Immune Responses in Oncology Workers following COVID-19 Vaccination: An Interim Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Nov.10(11). Pubmedid: 36423026. Pmcid: PMC9696551.
    • Giuliano AR, Lancet JE, Pilon-Thomas S, Dong N, Jain AG, Tan E, Ball S, Tworoger SS, Siegel EM, Whiting J, Mo Q, Cubitt CL, Dukes CW, Hensel JA, Keenan RJ, Hwu P. Evaluation of Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Vaccination in Patients With Cancer in Florida. JAMA Oncol. 2022 May.8(5):748-754. Pubmedid: 35266953. Pmcid: PMC8914884.
    • Creasy CA, Meng YJ, Forget MA, Karpinets T, Tomczak K, Stewart C, Torres-Cabala CA, Pilon-Thomas S, Sarnaik AA, Mule JJ, Garraway L, Bustos M, Zhang J, Patel SP, Diab A, Glitza IC, Yee C, Tawbi H, Wong MK, McQuade J, Hoon DSB, Davies MA, Hwu P, Amaria RN, Haymaker C, Beroukhim R, Bernatchez C. Genomic Correlates of Outcome in Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy for Metastatic Melanoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 May.28(9):1911-1924. Pubmedid: 35190823. Pmcid: PMC9064946.
    • Giuliano AR, Pilon-Thomas S, Schell MJ, Abrahamsen M, Islam JY, Isaacs-Soriano K, Kennedy K, Dukes CW, Whiting J, Rathwell J, Hensel JA, Mangual LN, Schonbrunn E, Bikowitz M, Grassie D, Yang Y. SARS-CoV-2 Period Seroprevalence and Related Factors, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA, October 2020-March 2021. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Mar.28(3):556-563. Pubmedid: 35081021. Pmcid: PMC8888241.
    • Bekker RA, Kim S, Pilon-Thomas S, Enderling H. Mathematical modeling of radiotherapy and its impact on tumor interactions with the immune system. Neoplasia. 2022 Jun.28:100796. Pubmedid: 35447601. Pmcid: PMC9043662.
    • Bekker RA, Zahid MU, Binning JM, Spring BQ, Hwu P, Pilon-Thomas S, Enderling H. Rethinking the immunotherapy numbers game. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Jul.10(7). Pubmedid: 35793871. Pmcid: PMC9260835.
    • Alkhouli MA, Bazargan S, Pilon-Thomas S, Poch M, Chahoud J. Current State of Cell Therapies for Genitourinary Malignancies. Cancer J. 2022 Jul.28(4):294-300. Pubmedid: 35880939.
    • Daniel Grass G, Alfonso JCL, Welsh E, Ahmed KA, Teer JK, Pilon-Thomas S, Harrison LB, Cleveland JL, Mulé JJ, Eschrich SA, Enderling H, Torres-Roca JF. The Radiosensitivity Index Gene Signature Identifies Distinct Tumor Immune Microenvironment Characteristics Associated With Susceptibility to Radiation Therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2022 Jul.113(3):635-647. Pubmedid: 35289298. Pmcid: PMC9250625.
    • Mullinax JE, Pilon-Thomas S. Adoptive Cell Therapy for Advanced Solid Tumors. Cancer J. 2022 Jul.28(4):255-256. Pubmedid: 35880933.
    • Hensel J, Metts J, Gupta A, Ladle BH, Pilon-Thomas S, Mullinax J. Adoptive Cellular Therapy for Pediatric Solid Tumors: Beyond Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Therapy. Cancer J. 2022 Jul.28(4):322-327. Pubmedid: 35880942. Pmcid: PMC9847472.
    • Hall MS, Mullinax JE, Cox CA, Hall AM, Beatty MS, Blauvelt J, Innamarato P, Nagle L, Branthoover H, Wiener D, Schachner B, Martinez AJ, Richards AD, Rich CJ, Colón Colón M, Schell MJ, Teer JK, Khushalani NI, Weber JS, Mule JJ, Sondak VK, Pilon-Thomas S, Sarnaik AA. Combination Nivolumab, CD137 Agonism, and Adoptive Cell Therapy with Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 Dec.28(24):5317-5329. Pubmedid: 36215121. Pmcid: PMC10324027.
    • Oshrine B, Innamarato P, Branthoover H, Nagle L, Verdugo P, Pilon-Thomas S, Beatty M. Early Recovery of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Transplant: Comparison of Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide to Standard Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis. Transplant Cell Ther. 2022 Apr.28(4):203.e1-203.e7. Pubmedid: 34995816.
    • Alfonso JCL, Grass GD, Welsh E, Ahmed KA, Teer JK, Pilon-Thomas S, Harrison LB, Cleveland JL, Mulé JJ, Eschrich SA, Torres-Roca JF, Enderling H. Tumor-immune ecosystem dynamics define an individual Radiation Immune Score to predict pan-cancer radiocurability. Neoplasia. 2021 Nov.23(11):1110-1122. Pubmedid: 34619428. Pmcid: PMC8502777.
    • Aydin AM, Hall M, Bunch BL, Branthoover H, Sannasardo Z, Mackay A, Beatty M, Sarnaik AA, Mullinax JE, Spiess PE, Pilon-Thomas S. Expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from penile cancer patients. Int Immunopharmacol. 2021 May.94:107481. Pubmedid: 33636562. Pmcid: PMC8205103.
    • Innamarato P, Pilon-Thomas S. Reactive myelopoiesis and the onset of myeloid-mediated immune suppression: Implications for adoptive cell therapy. Cell Immunol. 2021 Mar.361:104277. Pubmedid: 33476931. Pmcid: PMC7901256.
    • Innamarato P, Morse J, Mackay A, Asby S, Beatty M, Blauvelt J, Kidd S, Mullinax JE, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Intralesional injection of rose bengal augments the efficacy of gemcitabine chemotherapy against pancreatic tumors. BMC Cancer. 2021 Jun.21(1):756. Pubmedid: 34187428. Pmcid: PMC8243723.
    • Mullinax JE, Hall M, Beatty M, Weber AM, Sannasardo Z, Svrdlin T, Hensel J, Richards A, Gonzalez RJ, Cox CA, Kelley L, Mulé JJ, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Expanded Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocytes From Soft Tissue Sarcoma Have Tumor-specific Function. J Immunother. 2021 Feb.44(2):63-70. Pubmedid: 33443972. Pmcid: PMC8111686.
    • Aydin AM, Bunch BL, Beatty M, Hajiran A, Dhillon J, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S, Poch MA. The Factors Affecting Expansion of Reactive Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) From Bladder Cancer and Potential Therapeutic Applications. Front Immunol. 2021 Feb.12:628063. Pubmedid: 33717150. Pmcid: PMC7949015.
    • Creelan BC, Wang C, Teer JK, Toloza EM, Yao J, Kim S, Landin AM, Mullinax JE, Saller JJ, Saltos AN, Noyes DR, Montoya LB, Curry W, Pilon-Thomas SA, Chiappori AA, Tanvetyanon T, Kaye FJ, Thompson ZJ, Yoder SJ, Fang B, Koomen JM, Sarnaik AA, Chen DT, Conejo-Garcia JR, Haura EB, Antonia SJ. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte treatment for anti-PD-1-resistant metastatic lung cancer: a phase 1 trial. Nat Med. 2021 Aug.27(8):1410-1418. Pubmedid: 34385708. Pmcid: PMC8509078.
    • Falahat R, Berglund A, Putney RM, Perez-Villarroel P, Aoyama S, Pilon-Thomas S, Barber GN, Mulé JJ. Epigenetic reprogramming of tumor cell-intrinsic STING function sculpts antigenicity and T cell recognition of melanoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Apr.118(15). Pubmedid: 33827917. Pmcid: PMC8053941.
    • Jia Y, Kodumudi KN, Ramamoorthi G, Basu A, Snyder C, Wiener D, Pilon-Thomas S, Grover P, Zhang H, Greene MI, Mo Q, Tong Z, Chen YZ, Costa RLB, Han H, Lee C, Soliman H, Conejo-Garcia JR, Koski G, Czerniecki BJ. Th1 cytokine interferon gamma improves response in HER2 breast cancer by modulating the ubiquitin proteasomal pathway. Mol Ther. 2021 Apr.29(4):1541-1556. Pubmedid: 33412308. Pmcid: PMC8058490.
    • Wei WZ, Gibson HM, Jacob JB, Frelinger JA, Berzofsky JA, Maeng H, Dyson G, Reyes JD, Pilon-Thomas S, Ratner S, Wei KC. Diversity Outbred Mice Reveal the Quantitative Trait Locus and Regulatory Cells of HER2 Immunity. J Immunol. 2020 Sep.205(6):1554-1563. Pubmedid: 32796024. Pmcid: PMC7484363.
    • Innamarato P, Kodumudi K, Asby S, Schachner B, Hall M, Mackay A, Wiener D, Beatty M, Nagle L, Creelan BC, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Reactive Myelopoiesis Triggered by Lymphodepleting Chemotherapy Limits the Efficacy of Adoptive T Cell Therapy. Mol Ther. 2020 Oct.28(10):2252-2270. Pubmedid: 32615068. Pmcid: PMC7544980.
    • Innamarato P, Asby S, Morse J, Mackay A, Hall M, Kidd S, Nagle L, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Intratumoral Activation of 41BB Costimulatory Signals Enhances CD8 T Cell Expansion and Modulates Tumor-Infiltrating Myeloid Cells. J Immunol. 2020 Nov.205(10):2893-2904. Pubmedid: 33020146. Pmcid: PMC7741883.
    • El-Kenawi A, Gatenbee C, Robertson-Tessi M, Bravo R, Dhillon J, Balagurunathan Y, Berglund A, Vishvakarma N, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Choi J, Luddy K, Gatenby R, Pilon-Thomas S, Anderson A, Ruffell B, Gillies R. Correction: Acidity promotes tumour progression by altering macrophage phenotype in prostate cancer. Brit J Cancer. 2020 Mar.122(7):1118. Pubmedid: 31937927. Pmcid: PMC7109119.
    • Bunch BL, Morse J, Asby S, Blauvelt J, Aydin AM, Innamarato P, Hajiran A, Beatty M, Poch M, Pilon-Thomas S. Systemic and intravesical adoptive cell therapy of tumor-reactive T cells can decrease bladder tumor growth in vivo. J Immunother Cancer. 2020 Dec.8(2). Pubmedid: 33303579. Pmcid: PMC7733200.
    • Bunch BL, Kodumudi KN, Scott E, Morse J, Weber AM, Berglund AE, Pilon-Thomas S, Markowitz J. Anti-tumor efficacy of plasmid encoding emm55 in a murine melanoma model. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2020 Dec.69(12):2465-2476. Pubmedid: 32556443. Pmcid: PMC7680263.
    • Wu H, Estrella V, Beatty M, Abrahams D, El-Kenawi A, Russell S, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Longo DL, Reshetnyak YK, Moshnikova A, Andreev OA, Luddy K, Damaghi M, Kodumudi K, Pillai SR, Enriquez-Navas P, Pilon-Thomas S, Swietach P, Gillies RJ. T-cells produce acidic niches in lymph nodes to suppress their own effector functions. Nat Commun. 2020 Aug.11(1):4113. Pubmedid: 32807791. Pmcid: PMC7431837.
    • Damgaci S, Enriquez-Navas PM, Pilon-Thomas S, Guvenis A, Gillies RJ, Ibrahim-Hashim A. Immunotherapy on acid: opportunities and challenges. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2020 Aug.74(Suppl 1):3-6. Pubmedid: 32873950. Pmcid: PMC7777416.
    • Mohamed E, Sierra RA, Trillo-Tinoco J, Cao Y, Innamarato P, Payne KK, de Mingo Pulido A, Mandula J, Zhang S, Thevenot P, Biswas S, Abdalla SK, Costich TL, Hänggi K, Anadon CM, Flores ER, Haura EB, Mehrotra S, Pilon-Thomas S, Ruffell B, Munn DH, Cubillos-Ruiz JR, Conejo-Garcia JR, Rodriguez PC. The Unfolded Protein Response Mediator PERK Governs Myeloid Cell-Driven Immunosuppression in Tumors through Inhibition of STING Signaling. Immunity. 2020 Apr.52(4):668-682.e7. Pubmedid: 32294407. Pmcid: PMC7207019.
    • El-Kenawi A, Gatenbee C, Robertson-Tessi M, Bravo R, Dhillon J, Balagurunathan Y, Berglund A, Visvakarma N, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Choi J, Luddy K, Gatenby R, Pilon-Thomas S, Anderson A, Ruffell B, Gillies R. Acidity promotes tumour progression by altering macrophage phenotype in prostate cancer. Brit J Cancer. 2019 Oct.121(7):556-566. Pubmedid: 31417189. Pmcid: PMC6889319.
    • Falahat R, Perez-Villarroel P, Mailloux AW, Zhu G, Pilon-Thomas S, Barber GN, Mulé JJ. STING Signaling in Melanoma Cells Shapes Antigenicity and Can Promote Antitumor T-cell Activity. Cancer Immunol Res. 2019 Nov.7(11):1837-1848. Pubmedid: 31462408. Pmcid: PMC6825582.
    • Atay C, Kwak T, Lavilla-Alonso S, Donthireddy L, Richards AD, Moberg VE, Pilon-Thomas S, Schell MJ, Messina JL, Rebecca VW, Xiao M, Tan J, Zhang G, Weber JS, Herlyn M, Sarnaik AA, Gabrilovich DI. BRAF Targeting Sensitizes Resistant Melanoma to Cytotoxic T Cells. Clin Cancer Res. 2019 May.25(9):2783-2794. Pubmedid: 30765391. Pmcid: PMC6497575.
    • Hopewell EL, Cox C, Pilon-Thomas S, Kelley LL. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes: Streamlining a complex manufacturing process. Cytotherapy. 2019 Mar.21(3):307-314. Pubmedid: 30509772. Pmcid: PMC6453723.
    • López Alfonso JC, Poleszczuk J, Walker R, Kim S, Pilon-Thomas S, Conejo-Garcia JJ, Soliman H, Czerniecki B, Harrison LB, Enderling H. Immunologic Consequences of Sequencing Cancer Radiotherapy and Surgery. JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2019 Apr.3:1-16. Pubmedid: 30964698. Pmcid: PMC6661069.
    • Mullinax JE, Hall M, Prabhakaran S, Weber J, Khushalani N, Eroglu Z, Brohl AS, Markowitz J, Royster E, Richards A, Stark V, Zager JS, Kelley L, Cox C, Sondak VK, Mulé JJ, Pilon-Thomas S, Sarnaik AA. Combination of Ipilimumab and Adoptive Cell Therapy with Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma. Front Oncol. 2018 Mar.8:44. Pubmedid: 29552542. Pmcid: PMC5840208.
    • Walker R, Poleszczuk J, Pilon-Thomas S, Kim S, Anderson AARA, Czerniecki BJ, Harrison LB, Moros EG, Enderling H. Immune interconnectivity of anatomically distant tumors as a potential mediator of systemic responses to local therapy. Sci Rep. 2018 Jun.8(1):9474. Pubmedid: 29930290. Pmcid: PMC6013469.
    • Poch M, Hall M, Joerger A, Kodumudi K, Beatty M, Innamarato PP, Bunch BL, Fishman MN, Zhang J, Sexton WJ, Pow-Sang JM, Gilbert SM, Spiess PE, Dhillon J, Kelley L, Mullinax J, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Expansion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from bladder cancer. Oncoimmunology. 2018 Jul.7(9):e1476816. Pubmedid: 30228944. Pmcid: PMC6140546.
    • Damgaci S, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Enriquez-Navas PM, Pilon-Thomas S, Guvenis A, Gillies RJ. Hypoxia and acidosis: immune suppressors and therapeutic targets. Immunology. 2018 Jul.154(3):354-362. Pubmedid: 29485185. Pmcid: PMC6002221.
    • Liu H, Weber A, Morse J, Kodumudi K, Scott E, Mullinax J, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. T cell mediated immunity after combination therapy with intralesional PV-10 and blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in a murine melanoma model. PLoS One. 2018 Apr.13(4):e0196033. Pubmedid: 29694419. Pmcid: PMC5918896.
    • Walker R, Schoenfeld JD, Pilon-Thomas S, Poleszczuk J, Enderling H. Evaluating the potential for maximized T cell redistribution entropy to improve abscopal responses to radiotherapy. Converg Sci Phys Oncol. 2017 Sep.3(3). Pubmedid: 29774168. Pmcid: PMC5949881.
    • Mahajan NP, Malla P, Bhagwat S, Sharma V, Sarnaik A, Kim J, Pilon-Thomas S, Weber J, Mahajan K. WEE1 epigenetically modulates 5-hmC levels by pY37-H2B dependent regulation of gene expression. Oncotarget. 2017 Dec.8(63):106352-106368. Pubmedid: 29290954. Pmcid: PMC5739739.
    • Hall M, Liu H, Malafa M, Centeno B, Hodul PJ, Pimiento J, Pilon-Thomas S, Sarnaik AA. Expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from human pancreatic tumors. J Immunother Cancer. 2016 Oct.4:61. Pubmedid: 27777771. Pmcid: PMC5067894.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Kodumudi KN, El-Kenawi AE, Russell S, Weber AM, Luddy K, Damaghi M, Wojtkowiak JW, Mulé JJ, Ibrahim-Hashim A, Gillies RJ. Neutralization of Tumor Acidity Improves Antitumor Responses to Immunotherapy. Cancer Res. 2016 Mar.76(6):1381-1390. Pubmedid: 26719539. Pmcid: PMC4829106.
    • Liu H, Innamarato PP, Kodumudi K, Weber A, Nemoto S, Robinson JL, Crago G, McCardle T, Royster E, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Intralesional rose bengal in melanoma elicits tumor immunity via activation of dendritic cells by the release of high mobility group box 1. Oncotarget. 2016 Jun.7(25):37893-37905. Pubmedid: 27177220. Pmcid: PMC5122358.
    • Pisklakova A, McKenzie B, Zemp F, Lun X, Kenchappa RS, Etame AB, Rahman MM, Reilly K, Pilon-Thomas S, McFadden G, Kurz E, Forsyth PA. M011L-deficient oncolytic myxoma virus induces apoptosis in brain tumor-initiating cells and enhances survival in a novel immunocompetent mouse model of glioblastoma. Neurooncol. 2016 Aug.18(8):1088-1098. Pubmedid: 26962017. Pmcid: PMC4933479.
    • Kodumudi KN, Siegel J, Weber AM, Scott E, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Immune Checkpoint Blockade to Improve Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes for Adoptive Cell Therapy. PLoS One. 2016 Apr.11(4):e0153053. Pubmedid: 27050669. Pmcid: PMC4822778.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Ruffell B. Tipping the Balancing ACT. Cancer Cell. 2016 09.30(3):367-368. Pubmedid: 27622327.
    • Chacon JA, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S, Radvanyi L. Triggering co-stimulation directly in melanoma tumor fragments drives CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte expansion with improved effector-memory properties. Oncoimmunology. 2015 Jul.4(12):e1040219. Pubmedid: 26587314. Pmcid: PMC4635692.
    • Nelson N, Xiang S, Zhang X, Gilvary D, Djeu J, Husain K, Malafa M, Vohra N, Pilon-Thomas S, Ghansah T. Murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma reduces Ikaros expression and disrupts T cell homeostasis. PLoS One. 2015 Jan.10(1):e0115546. Pubmedid: 25629611. Pmcid: PMC4309586.
    • Chacon J, Sarnaik A, Chen J, Creasy C, Kale C, Robinson J, Weber J, Hwu P, Pilon-Thomas S, Radvanyi LG. Manipulating the tumor microenvironment ex vivo for enhanced expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for adoptive cell therapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2015 Feb.21(3):611-621. Pubmedid: 25472998. Pmcid: PMC4315752.
    • Toomey P, Kodumudi K, Weber A, Kuhn L, Moore E, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Intralesional injection of rose bengal induces a systemic tumor-specific immune response in murine models of melanoma and breast cancer. PLoS One. 2014 Mar.8(7):e68561. Pubmedid: 23874673. Pmcid: PMC3714270.
    • Komine H, Kuhn L, Matsushita N, Mulé JJ, Pilon-Thomas S. Examination of MARCO activity on dendritic cell phenotype and function using a gene knockout mouse. PLoS One. 2014 Feb.8(7):e67795. Pubmedid: 23840879. Pmcid: PMC3698187.
    • Chacon JA, Wu RC, Sukhumalchandra P, Molldrem JJ, Sarnaik A, Pilon-Thomas S, Weber J, Hwu P, Radvanyi L. Co-stimulation through 4-1BB/CD137 improves the expansion and function of CD8(+) melanoma tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for adoptive T-cell therapy. PLoS One. 2013 Sep.8(4):e60031. Pubmedid: 23560068. Pmcid: PMC3613355.
    • Chacon JA, Pilon-Thomas S, Sarnaik AA, Radvanyi LG. Continuous 4-1BB co-stimulatory signals for the optimal expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for adoptive T-cell therapy. Oncoimmunology. 2013 Sep.2(9):e25581. Pubmedid: 24319633. Pmcid: PMC3850170.
    • Radvanyi L, Pilon-Thomas S, Peng W, Sarnaik A, Mulé JJ, Weber J, Hwu P. Antagonist antibodies to PD-1 and B7-H1 (PD-L1) in the treatment of advanced human cancer--letter. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Oct.19(19):5541. Pubmedid: 24048330. Pmcid: PMC3823378.
    • Ghansah T, Vohra N, Kinney K, Weber A, Kodumudi K, Springett G, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Dendritic cell immunotherapy combined with gemcitabine chemotherapy enhances survival in a murine model of pancreatic carcinoma. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2013 Jun.62(6):1083-1091. Pubmedid: 23604104. Pmcid: PMC3666559.
    • Toomey PG, Vohra NA, Ghansah T, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas SA. Immunotherapy for gastrointestinal malignancies. Cancer Control. 2013 Jan.20(1):32-42. Pubmedid: 23302905. Pmcid: PMC4761871.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Kuhn L, Ellwanger S, Janssen W, Royster E, Marzban S, Kudchadkar R, Zager J, Gibney G, Sondak VK, Weber J, Mulé JJ, Sarnaik AA. Efficacy of adoptive cell transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after lymphopenia induction for metastatic melanoma. J Immunother. 2012 Oct.35(8):615-620. Pubmedid: 22996367. Pmcid: PMC4467830.
    • Kodumudi KN, Weber A, Sarnaik AA, Pilon-Thomas S. Blockade of myeloid-derived suppressor cells after induction of lymphopenia improves adoptive T cell therapy in a murine model of melanoma. J Immunol. 2012 Dec.189(11):5147-5154. Pubmedid: 23100512. Pmcid: PMC3505990.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Nelson N, Vohra N, Jerald M, Pendleton L, Szekeres K, Ghansah T. Murine pancreatic adenocarcinoma dampens SHIP-1 expression and alters MDSC homeostasis and function. PLoS One. 2012 Apr.6(11):e27729. Pubmedid: 22132131. Pmcid: PMC3222660.
    • Vohra N, Verhaegen M, Martin L, Mackay A, Pilon-Thomas S. TNF-alpha-treated DC exacerbates disease in a murine tumor metastasis model. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2010 May.59(5):729-736. Pubmedid: 19921187. Pmcid: PMC2839058.
    • Radkevich-Brown O, Piechocki MP, Back JB, Weise AM, Pilon-Thomas S, Wei WZ. Intratumoral DNA electroporation induces anti-tumor immunity and tumor regression. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2010 Mar.59(3):409-417. Pubmedid: 19730859. Pmcid: PMC3702174.
    • Matsushita N, Komine H, Grolleau-Julius A, Pilon-Thomas S, Mulé JJ. Targeting MARCO can lead to enhanced dendritic cell motility and anti-melanoma activity. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2010 Jun.59(6):875-884. Pubmedid: 20054688. Pmcid: PMC2861905.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Mackay A, Vohra N, Mulé JJ. Blockade of programmed death ligand 1 enhances the therapeutic efficacy of combination immunotherapy against melanoma. J Immunol. 2010 Apr.184(7):3442-3449. Pubmedid: 20194714. Pmcid: PMC2913584.
    • Koike N, Pilon-Thomas S, Mulé JJ. Nonmyeloablative chemotherapy followed by T-cell adoptive transfer and dendritic cell-based vaccination results in rejection of established melanoma. J Immunother. 2008 May.31(4):402-412. Pubmedid: 18391755.
    • Matsushita N, Pilon-Thomas SA, Martin LM, Riker AI. Comparative methodologies of regulatory T cell depletion in a murine melanoma model. J Immunol Methods. 2008 Apr.333(1-2):167-179. Pubmedid: 18295790. Pmcid: PMC2577585.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Verhaegen M, Kuhn L, Riker A, Mule J. Induction of anti-tumor immunity by vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with anti-CD44 IgG opsonized tumor cells. Cancer Immunol Immun. 2006 Oct.55(10):1238-1246. Pubmedid: 16315029.
    • Kortylewski M, Kujawski M, Wang T, Wei S, Zhang S, Pilon-Thomas S, Niu G, Kay H, Mulé J, Kerr WG, Jove R, Pardoll D, Yu H. Inhibiting Stat3 signaling in the hematopoietic system elicits multicomponent antitumor immunity. Nat Med. 2005 Dec.11(12):1314-1321. Pubmedid: 16288283.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Verhaegen M, Mule J. Dendritic cell-based therapeutics for breast cancer. Breast Dis. 2004.20:65-71. Pubmedid: 15687708.
    • Asavaroengchai W, Kotera Y, Koike N, Pilon-Thomas S, Mule J. Augmentation of antitumor immune responses after adoptive transfer of bone marrow derived from donors immunized with tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells. Biol Blood Marrow Tran. 2004.10:524-533. Pubmedid: 15282530.
    • Pilon SA, Kelly C, Wei WZ. Broadening of epitope recognition during immune rejection of ErbB-2-positive tumor prevents growth of ErbB-2-negative tumor. J Immunol. 2003 Feb.170(3):1202-1208. Pubmedid: 12538677.
    • Piechocki MP, Ho YS, Pilon S, Wei WZ. Human ErbB-2 (Her-2) transgenic mice: a model system for testing Her-2 based vaccines. J Immunol. 2003 Dec.171(11):5787-5794. Pubmedid: 14634087.
    • Piechocki MP, Pilon SA, Wei WZ. Quantitative measurement of anti-ErbB-2 antibody by flow cytometry and ELISA. J Immunol Methods. 2002 Jan.259(1-2):33-42. Pubmedid: 11730839.
    • Pilon SA, Piechocki MP, Wei WZ. Vaccination with cytoplasmic ErbB-2 DNA protects mice from mammary tumor growth without anti-ErbB-2 antibody. J Immunol. 2001 Sep.167(6):3201-3206. Pubmedid: 11544306.
    • Piechocki MP, Pilon SA, Wei WZ. Complementary antitumor immunity induced by plasmid DNA encoding secreted and cytoplasmic human ErbB-2. J Immunol. 2001 Sep.167(6):3367-3374. Pubmedid: 11544327.
    • Piechocki MP, Pilon SA, Kelly C, Wei WZ. Degradation signals in ErbB-2 dictate proteasomal processing and immunogenicity and resist protection by cis glycine-alanine repeat. Cell Immunol. 2001 Sep.212(2):138-149. Pubmedid: 11748930.
    • Pilon-Thomas S, Li W, Briggs J, Djeu J, Mule J, Riker A. Immunostimulatory effects of CpG-ODN upon dendritic cell-based immunotherapy in a murine melanoma model. J Immunother. 29(4):381-387. Pubmedid: 16799333.
  • Grants

    • Title: Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is a promising form of T cell-based immunotherapy.
      Sponsor: Moffitt Fdtn
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Research Plan 8: Expansion, Enrichment, and Confirmation of Neoantigen Reactive TILS from GI/CRC tumors, selection of TILS reactive to patient-tumor neoantigens, and characterization of their reactivity and tumor cell killing capabilities
      Sponsor: Turnstone Biologics
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Research Plan 9: Optimize the Turnstone process.
      Sponsor: Turnstone Biologics
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Research Plan A-3: NSG Mouse Models to Evaluate the Efficacy of TIL
      Sponsor: Iovance Biotherapeutics
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Feasibility of expending autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from patients with leptomeningeal disease from melanoma.
      Sponsor: Moffitt Cancer Center
      PI: Pina, Y., CO-PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Transdermal Alkalinization Treatment as an Adjunct in Melanoma Therapy
      Sponsor: Dyve Biosciences
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S., CO-PI: Gillies, R.
    • Title: Development of Adoptive T-Cell Therapy in Bladder Cancer Incorporating Patient-Specific Tumor Microenvironment
      Sponsor: US Army
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: The Role of Hypoxia on Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TIL) from Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)
      Sponsor: US Army
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Predict radiation-induced shifts in patient-specific tumor immune ecosystem composition to harness immunological consequences of radiotherapy
      Sponsor: Nat Institutes of Health
      PI (Contact): Enderling, H., PI (MPI): Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Mathematical Model-Guided Adoptive Immunotherapy in Bladder Cancer
      Sponsor: Nat Institutes of Health
      PI (Contact): Rejniak, K., PI (MPI): Pilon-Thomas, S.
    • Title: Imaging Acidosis and Immune Therapy in PDAC
      Sponsor: Nat Institutes of Health
      PI (Contact): Pilon-Thomas, S., PI: Ibrahim Hashim, A.
    • Title: Predict radiation-induced shifts in patient-specific tumor immune ecosystem composition to harness immunological consequences of radiotherapy
      Sponsor: Nat Institutes of Health
      PI: Pilon-Thomas, S.

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