Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy

Decorative shape

Immunotherapy is revolutionizing the way we treat cancer and immune-related diseases by harnessing the body’s own defenses to target illness more precisely and effectively. These therapies work by enhancing, redirecting, or engineering immune cells to recognize and attack diseased cells while sparing healthy tissue. Advances in stem cell science are opening new possibilities for creating immune cells with enhanced capabilities, improving both the safety and efficacy of these treatments.

In Canada, researchers are pioneering innovative approaches that combine stem cell technologies with immunotherapy to develop next-generation treatments.

This includes engineering immune cells to better target cancers, removing harmful “senescent” cells that can fuel disease, and correcting genetic defects that cause immune dysfunction. By leveraging renewable and versatile stem cell sources, scientists are creating customized immune therapies that could overcome challenges that current treatments cannot address.

These efforts are helping to expand the potential of immunotherapy beyond traditional approaches, laying the groundwork for safer, more effective, and more widely accessible treatments. Through this research, Canadian scientists are contributing to a global shift in medicine—one that turns the immune system into a powerful tool against disease while providing patients with new hope for difficult-to-treat conditions.

Dr. Kelly McNagny, University of British Columbia, British Columbia

Cycle 5, Round 1: Impact Award Supercharging the Body’s First Responders to Fight Cancer

Our immune system has a hidden force—innate lymphoid cells (ILCs)—that act like first responders against infections, support healthy tissue, and even fight cancer. In solid tumours, ILCs move into the tumour environment and help inhibit its growth by attacking cancer cells and calling in backup from other immune cells.

Dr. Kelly McNagny’s team is working to turn ILCs into powerful cancer-fighting tools by equipping them with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)—custom molecules that act like GPS trackers to help immune cells recognize and destroy cancer more effectively. While CAR technology is already used with other immune cells to treat blood cancers, this project is pioneering the approach with ILCs for solid tumours.

To do this, the researchers will generate ILCs from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)—a renewable, versatile type of stem cell—and genetically modify them to maximize their cancer-killing power. These engineered “CAR-ILCs” will then be tested in both lab-grown cells and preclinical models.

If successful, this project could lay the foundation for a new class of targeted immunotherapies—unlocking safer, more effective treatments for aggressive cancers that are currently difficult to cure.

“This is about creating smarter, more precise immune cells that can be deployed to attack hard-to-treat tumours.”

Dr. Christian Beauséjour, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, Quebec

Cycle 5, Round 1: Impact Award Boosting Cancer Treatment By Eliminating Harmful “Zombie” Cells

As we age or undergo treatments like chemotherapy, some cells stop dividing and become “senescent.” These so-called “zombie” cells don’t die but linger in the body, creating inflammation and even helping cancer grow and spread. Dr. Christian Beauséjour’s team is exploring a powerful new way to eliminate these cells using genetically engineered natural killer (NK) cells—part of the immune system’s first line of defense.

Senescent cells protect themselves by sending out inhibitory signals that prevent NK cells from attacking. To bypass this, the team is using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from amniotic fluid to create modified NK cells—called iNK cells—that ignore these signals and more effectively destroy their targets. The research will test the ability of iNK cells to remove senescent cancer cells in lab models, and screen approved drugs that could make these cells even more vulnerable to immune attack.

This work could lead to a new kind of cell therapy that enhances cancer treatment by targeting and removing the harmful senescent cells that fuel tumour growth and resistance.

“Even after cancer treatment, senescent cells can act like fertilizer for tumours—helping them grow back stronger. Our goal is to give the immune system a powerful new tool to eliminate these cells and boost the success of cancer therapies.”

Dr. Elie Haddad, Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, Quebec

Cycle 5, Round 1: Impact Award Precision Gene Therapy for a Life-Threatening Immune Disease

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare, life-threatening disease mostly affecting children who inherit a mutated gene. It causes their immune systems to overreact to infections, leading to dangerous inflammation and organ failure. The main treatment—a donor stem cell transplant—carries serious risks due to this hyper-inflammatory response.

Dr. Elie Haddad is pioneering a new approach: a gene therapy that modifies a patient’s own bone marrow cells to correct the underlying genetic defect. Because the defective gene, perforin, must be active only in certain immune cells (T-cells and natural killer or NK cells), his team created a “specific promoter” to precisely induce its expression in T and NK cells but not in other blood cells.

This therapy will be tested in lab models and patient cells to see if it prevents harmful inflammation and restores immune function. If successful, it could provide children with HLH a safer, more effective treatment and may benefit other immune diseases.

“Our goal is to develop a gene therapy that precisely corrects the immune defect causing HLH — giving children a safer treatment option and a chance at a healthier life.”