White Lab
Principal Investigator: Rebekah White
Institution: University of California San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
Up to 40% of patients with pancreatic cancer present with locally advanced pancreas cancer (LAPC), defined as localized (non-metastatic) but unresectable. Treatment of this patient subset is a particularly glaring unmet need. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a technique that is being used increasingly for ablation of persistent LAPC after systemic therapy. Our group has demonstrated that IRE can function as an "in situ vaccine" by releasing tumor neoantigens in the setting of inflammation and thereby promoting recognition of the tumor by the innate immune system. CD40 is an immune receptor located on antigen-presenting cells that serves as a bridge between the innate immune system and the host’s specific response to neoantigens (the adaptive immune system). Using immunocompetent orthotopic mouse models of pancreatic cancer, we have shown that the combination of IRE with local delivery of a CD40 agonistic antibody (CD40 Ab), can both improve the local effects of IRE and decrease metastatic disease in the liver. ADC-1013 (mitazalimab) is a CD40 antibody that is currently being studied in clinical trials as a systemic therapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer. It has also been del…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01CA282439-04: Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Combined with CD40 Agonism as In Situ Vaccine Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer (2026)
- 1R21CA306070-01: 3D High Density Collagen I Improves Modeling of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer (2025)
- 5R01CA254268-05: Combining Irreversible Electroporation with Immunotherapy for the Systemic Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer (2025)
- 5R01CA282439-03: Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Combined with CD40 Agonism as In Situ Vaccine Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer (2025)
- 5R01CA282439-02: Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) Combined with CD40 Agonism as In Situ Vaccine Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer (2024)
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