Cleveland Clinic's newly established Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology (CITI) has launched its Immunomonitoring Laboratory (IML), which will help researchers and clinicians to analyze the nature and state of immune responses of cancer patients. The IML is an institutional core and collaborative platform to help drive the future of cancer treatment.
CITI brings together multidisciplinary experts from across Cleveland Clinic to advance research and treatment related to the rapidly growing field of immuno-oncology. While traditional methods for treating cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation, are often effective at killing cancer cells, they can also kill healthy cells, as well. Cancer researchers around the world are searching for more effective therapies that do not compromise patients’ long-term health and wellness. One of the most promising research areas is immunotherapy, which has shown great promise in treating many types of cancer.
The IML will provide state-of-the-art immunomonitoring services for immunophenotyping human blood and tissues. This will allow investigators to characterize the impact of immunotherapeutic interventions, interrogate mechanisms and pathways related to treatment protocols and advance the conceptual basis for cancer treatment strategies. It will also offer clinical trialists the ability to bank and analyze blood and tissues.
The IML will partner with investigators to develop correlative studies to answer scientific questions. The services provided by the IML are available to scientists, clinicians and investigators across Cleveland Clinic, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, CWRU School of Medicine, UH/Seidman Cancer Center and industry collaborators. This resource will support translational analyses and clinical trials for many diseases with immunological foundations, including but not limited to autoimmunity and infectious diseases.
The IML will be led by C. Marcela Diaz, PhD, Scientific Director, and Jennifer Ko, MD, PhD, Medical Director. To request services and view prices, visit the IML iLab site. For additional information, contact CITIIML@ccf.org.