Challenging the view that chemotherapies only mediate their anticancer activity through a direct cytotoxic activity on tumor cells, my PhD work uncovered a critical contribution of anticancer immune responses for the success of conventional therapies. This work prompted the design of novel strategies enhancing the efficacy of anticancer therapies by manipulating the immune system.
During my postdoctoral work at Harvard University, I underscored the relevance of concomitant Tim-3 and PD-1 blockade to prevent T cell dysfunction and restore anticancer immunity.
After returning to France, I set up my laboratory and showed the anticancer properties of a novel subset of CD4 T cells, IL-9-producing TH9 cells, upon adoptive transfer against melanoma.
With funding from the European Commission, I developed multiple models of combination treatments with chemotherapy and immunomodulation to interrogate the relevance of T cells in anticancer cancer immune responses.