Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Dedicated to advancing pancreatic cancer research and providing support to patients and their families.

Donate
  • ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
    • Agi’s Story
    • About Us →
      • Mission
      • Directors/Trustees
      • Scientific Advisory Board
      • How Our Journey Began
    • News →
      • Latest News
      • Research News
      • Foundation News
      • UCLA Activity Summary Reports
      • Newsletters
      • Press Room
    • Contact
  • PANCREATIC CANCER
    • About the Pancreas →
      • The Pancreas
      • Cancer Cells
      • Risk Factors
      • Symptoms
      • Diagnosis
      • Prognosis
      • Staging
      • Second Opinion
    • Treatment Options →
      • Surgery
      • Chemotherapy
      • Targeted Therapy
      • Radiation Therapy
      • Alternative Treatment Options
      • Clinical Trials
    • Supportive Care →
      • Obstructions
      • Pain Control
      • Nutrition
      • Cannabis
      • Palliative Care
    • Pancreatic Cancer Facts
    • Glossary of Terms
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • RESEARCH
    • Seed Grant Program →
      • Seed Grant Recipients
      • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Seed Grant News
    • UCLA Program →
      • UCLA Center for Pancreatic Diseases
      • Basic Research
      • Translational Research
      • Sahin-Toth Laboratory
      • UCLA Pancreas Tissue Bank
      • UC Pancreatic Cancer Consortium
      • Simms/Mann Psychosocial →
        • Insights into Cancer
    • American Pancreatic Association
    • NIH Funded Projects
  • PATIENTS & CAREGIVERS
    • Patient Support
    • Where to Begin
    • Caregivers & Families
    • Symposium →
      • Symposium Presentations
    • Patient & Family Webinars
    • Genetic Counseling
    • Resources →
      • NCCN Guidelines for Patients
      • Patient Support Tools
      • Create Your Health Care Team
      • Patient Health Diaries
      • Support Groups
      • Financial Aid
  • HOW YOU CAN HELP
    • Planned Giving
    • Donor-Advised Funds
    • Event Calendar
    • Get Inspired
    • Fundraising Resources
    • November Awareness Month →
      • World Pancreatic Cancer Day
    • More Ways to Give →
      • You Can Help Funds
      • Host Your Own Event
      • Shop Online Store
      • Wedding Program
      • Volunteer
      • Car Program
  • SEARCH
Home / Research / Seed Grant Program / Seed Grant Recipients / Oren Parnas

Oren Parnas

Oren Parnas
Oren Parnas
Assistant Professor
Department of Immunology and Cancer Research
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Israel

Exploring the function of regulatory T cell sub-types in pancreatic cancer development and target regulatory T cells to mount an immune response.

Overview

Aim: Therapy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely lethal cancer, having the lowest survival rate among all cancer types. One of the main reasons for the poor prognosis lies in the ineffectiveness of current treatments, including immunotherapy which is not beneficial for most patients. Immunotherapy attempts to induce an immune response against PDAC mostly rely on directly improving the cytotoxic activity of CD8 T cells but the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) inhibits an efficient mounting of immune response. One of the cell types that participate in generating suppressive signals is regulatory CD4 T cells (Tregs). These immune cells attract to the pancreas at an early pre-malignant stage and accumulate during tumor progression. In recent publication and preliminary experiments, we have found that lesion and tumor-infiltrated Tregs includes at least two sub-populations and that the possibility of different function for each sub-type was not considered in previous studies. In the current proposal we aim to: (i) Investigate the effect of each Treg sub-type on tumor development and tumor mass. (ii) Screen for combinations of targeted genes that control Treg program and can be perturbed to convert Treg function from pro-cancerous to anti-cancerous.

We will build on the genetic and genomic tools that we generated, our extensive experience in working with PDAC models, and the solid preliminary data that we generated. We expect to achieve a better understanding of immunosuppressive TME and suggest new treatments either by adoptively transferring modified Tregs or by using drugs to restrict specific protein function according to the genetic screens and in vivo functional experiments.

Patient Support Resources

from the comfort of your home


Our Webinar Library »

Never Give Up.
The journey continues with an end in sight.
Our Stories »
SUBSCRIBE
Our Free E-Newsletter
Sign up to receive information on breaking news, patient programs and upcoming events.
You can custom tailor your subscriptions and unsubscribe at any time.
  • How You Can Help
  • Make A Donation
  • Host an Event
  • Shop Online Store
  • Signature Events
  • L.A. Cancer Challenge
  • Tour De Pier
  • Hirshberg Training Team
  • More
  • News
  • Press
  • Contact

Stay Connected

Join Our E-newsletter

  • Legal and Privacy
  • Financial Information
  • Contact