Maksim Mamonkin, PhD

The main research interest of his laboratory is studying immunobiology of T-cells engineered with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and creating new cell therapies for devastating diseases. He investigates molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of CAR T-cells and develop new ideas, from bench all the way to bedside. In particular, he is utilizing protein engineering and CRISPR-mediated genome editing to create therapeutic T-cells that target malignant T-cells (T-ALL, T-cell lymphoma) with minimal damage to normal lymphocytes. He is also exploring new strategies to target pathogenic T-cells in the context of immune rejection and autoimmune diseases. These approaches are currently being translated to the clinic and evaluated in ongoing and upcoming Phase I clinical trials at Baylor College of Medicine.