Immunotherapy holds great promise for cancer treatment, but why some patients respond better to immunotherapy than others remains a mystery. To uncover the role of genomic heterogeneity in therapeutic efficacy, scientists combine whole genome sequencing of patient samples with machine learning and animal models. In this webinar, Kuan-lin Huang and Benjamin Ostendorf will discuss recent research insights into the contributions of genomic heterogeneity to immunotherapy responses and outcomes.

Topics to be covered

• Predicting tumor immune response using genomic markers and machine-learning
• Determining melanoma progression and therapeutic response with common APOE germline variants



  • 1637072101-fa4e17902ed429f6
    Kuan-lin Huang, PhD
    Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Transformative Disease Modeling, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
    Kuan-lin (Kuan) Huang is an assistant professor of genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he leads the computational omics lab. Huang obtained his PhD in genetics and genomics from Washington University in St. Louis and continued to study cancer proteomics during his postdoctoral fellowship. In addition to running his lab, Kuan is a science communicator and authored the best-selling book “Solve It Yourself.” He also co-founded and leads the genomic start-up, DeepGene, and OpenBoxScience.Org, a not-for-profit that organizes open research talks connecting scientists around the world.
  • 1637072325-c8ed980a5d988c8d
    Benjamin Ostendorf, MD, PhD
    Max Eder Group Leader, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
    Benjamin Ostendorf obtained his medical degree at the University of Freiburg in Germany. He was a medical resident and researcher at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where he studied hematological neoplasias. Ostendorf then moved to Rockefeller University in New York to obtain a PhD in cancer biology. As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Sohail Tavazoie at Rockefeller, Ostendorf studied the impact of germline genetics on antitumor immunity and immunotherapy resistance. He recently became a group leader at the Charité, where he studies systems cancer immunology and the mechanisms that drive immunotherapy resistance.