Doctoral student in Medical Science – CAR T cell therapy for B cell malignancies

roject description:
Cellular immunotherapies such as CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy have improved treatment options for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. Although some patients achieve durable remissions, treatment responses vary and serious adverse events, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), remain common. As the use of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) expands, clinically applicable monitoring strategies are needed to support treatment decisions and improve patient safety.

This doctoral project aims to characterize CD19 CAR T-cells longitudinally in patients with B-cell malignancies and establish monitoring strategies for future ATMP workflows, including point-of-care CD19 CAR T-cell manufacturing.

The project is based on an ongoing prospective cohort of patients treated with CD19 CAR T-cells. Blood samples collected at multiple time points after infusion will be used to investigate CAR T-cell expansion, persistence, phenotype and function. The role of neutrophils and their potential influence on CAR T-cell expansion and effector function will also be studied. Laboratory findings will be integrated with clinical data to investigate associations with treatment response, durable remission, relapse and treatment-related toxicities.
The doctoral student will use multiparameter and spectral flow cytometry, functional T-cell assays, cytokine analyses and cell culture. The project also includes development and validation of clinically relevant assays for future CAR T-cell manufacturing and quality-control workflows.

The research is conducted in a translational environment, in close collaboration with the Department of Hematology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and research groups at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research, University of Gothenburg.
Experience or interest in immunology, flow cytometry, cell culture, advanced laboratory diagnostics or cell therapies is meritorious. The doctoral student will be part of BioLabX, Sweden’s national research school in biomedical laboratory science.