Amy N. Courtney, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine
Email: ancourt1@texaschildrens.org
Languages: English
Departments:
Get to know Amy N. Courtney, PhD
Personal Statement
Dr. Amy Courtney is an immunologist with over fifteen years of experience in both basic and translational research. Her research has focused primarily on invariant natural killer T (NKT) cells, specifically how to utilize their unique biological characteristics to treat various illnesses.
She has worked in collaboration with others to develop and optimize protocols for isolating and ex vivo expanding human NKTs for clinical applications. She is currently the lead investigator performing correlative studies for two phase 1 clinical trials. The first trial is a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial that utilizes ex vivo expanded NKTs expressing a chimeric antigen receptor in neuroblastoma patients (NCT03294954) and the interim results of this trial have recently been published (Heczey et al, Nat Med, 2020). The second trial is a phase 1 clinical trial with an allogeneic CD19.CAR NKT product for adult lymphoma patients (NCT03774654).
She is also interested in the cross-talk between NKTs and immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which have been shown to correlate with both metastatic disease and poor outcome in neuroblastoma patients. Her work has revealed that human NKTs mediate anti-neuroblastoma activity through both direct and indirect interactions with tumor-supportive TAMs. Currently, she is utilizing a transgenic murine model of neuroblastoma to further explore the role of NKT-TAM interactions in tumor immune surveillance.
Education
Organizations
| Organization Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Advances in Neuroblastoma Research Association (ANRA) | Member |
| American Association of Immunologists (AAI) | Member |
* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.
