Webinar: Optimal Design of Patient Derived Xenografts (PDX) to Study Cancer Pathogenesis and Responses to Therapy

During this presentation, Dr. Bankert discusses the optimal design of patient derived xenografts (PDX) to study cancer pathogenesis and responses to therapy. View this video to learn more about:

• Logistics and strategic planning for optimal xenografts, including selection of mouse strains, tissue procurement and evaluation issues, site of tissue implantation, time and evidence of engraftment of tumor, tumor microenvironment, and tumor metastasis.
• Currently used xenograft models, including discussion of several different models, advantages and limitations of each, and selecting the best model based on the questions to be addressed.
• A unique mouse model called the omental tumor xenograft (OTX) model which provides a most rapid and reliable establishment of tumor xenografts, including presentation of both tumor and tumor stroma. OTX model use and validation for pre-clinically assessing chemotherapy and immunotherapy protocols also will be discussed.
• Considerations for using different xenograft models to study the interaction of human tumor cells with tumor stroma and using xenograft models to address questions relating to the immune suppressive nature of the tumor microenvionment and ways to test strategies to overcome immune checkpoints within tumors.

Meet the Presenter

Richard Bankert,  V.M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, University of Buffalo, The State University of New York, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Dr. Bankert received his V.M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied B cell antigen receptors and the cell biology and immunohistochemistry of the humoral immune responses in mice and rabbits. He then moved to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) as a junior faculty member and advanced through a successful career at RPCI to become the Chairman of the Department of Immunology. While at RPCI, his work focused upon tumor immunology and immunotherapy. He later moved to University of Buffalo as a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology where his current research is focused  upon novel lipid-mediated immune checkpoints in human tumor microenvironments. Dr. Bankert and his colleagues have designed and utilized many different models of patient derived xenografts for over 25 years to investigate the interaction between tumor cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and to evaluate the efficacy of immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer.