Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology

About Us

Message from the Chair

The Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology (CITI) is a comprehensive bench-to-bedside translational center and department focused on immunotherapy, immuno-oncology, and precision medicine. We help propel immunotherapy, oncology research and therapeutics development across the international footprint of Cleveland Clinic. CITI brings together experts in biomedical research, developmental therapeutics, and clinical medicine in highly integrated programs that foster innovation.In order to advance our goals, CITI has established immuno-monitoring and clinical trials correlate cores, state-of-the-art genomics shared platforms, immune engineering programs, basic research, and training programs. Our faculty and associate members are renowned leaders in cancer and regenerative medicine, overseeing cutting-edge research and clinical trial programs. The goal of our work is to bring forth a better tomorrow for our patients through discovery and innovation.

Timothy Chan, MD, PhD
Center Director

Leadership

Timothy Chan, MD, PhD

Chair, Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
Director, Global Center for Immunotherapy, Cleveland Clinic
Co-Director, National Center for Regenerative Medicine
Program Leader, Immune Oncology Program, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy
Lab Profile

Jos Melenhorst, PhD

Vice Chair, Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
Director, Cell Therapy & Immuno-Engineering Program
[email protected]
Lab Profile

Nicholas Baltas, MBA

Department Administrator
[email protected]

Christine Lee-Poturalski, PhD

Manager, Research Program
[email protected]

Our Mission

A new era for immunogenomics in personalized cancer treatment

Immune-based therapies are redefining how cancer and other diseases are treated, helping to improve clinical outcomes for as many patients as possible. The Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology (CITI) at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute merges our expertise in immunology and genomics to drive innovation in research and care. We leverage immunogenomics in personalized cancer treatment for each patient. We are a department that includes research laboratories, shared research platforms, developmental therapeutics and precision medicine programs.

CITI is a state-of-the-art center and department dedicated to immunotherapy research, which seeks to understand the benefits and mechanisms of immunotherapy for cancer, discovery and developmental therapeutics, with the ultimate goal to make precision immuno-oncology available for every patient. CITI emphasizes large-scale capabilities and data science to drive immune medicine discovery and drug development for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other illnesses. CITI laboratory principal investigators are pursuing highly innovative research and advanced drug discovery across tumor types. We are working to develop new immunotherapies that will dramatically improve patient outcomes for some of today's most aggressive cancers. CITI oversees Cleveland Clinic GMP-based cell therapy development.

By understanding how the immune system and tumors interact, CITI scientists seek to develop large-scale immunogenomic discovery capabilities in partnership with clinicians and researchers across Cleveland Clinic, as well as industry collaborators.

Program Vision

Cell Therapy & Immuno-Engineering Program

Focuses on engineered cell therapy translational and biomarker work, identifying new targets for cell therapy, developing novel CAR T/engineered T cells, and developing cancer vaccines.

Immunologic Medicine

Our division laboratories address critical topics in translational immunology, tumor immunology, regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and immunotherapy development.

Precision & Development Therapeutics Program

Works across institutes to develop precision-oncology initiatives for Cleveland Clinic patients. We are developing state-of-the-art approaches to provide our patients with access to the latest diagnostics and therapeutics. We work with investigators throughout the Cleveland Clinic and Case Cancer Center on novel clinical trials.

Precision Immuno-Oncology

Precision oncology seeks to understand the unique genetic makeup of each patient's tumor to better tailor more effective treatments. Precision immuno-oncology provides immunogenomic profiling through computational immunology, immunomonitoring and immunoprofiling.

Our Goals

Some priority goals of CITI are to:

Drive discovery in tumor immunology and translational immunology
Engage in flagship projects with investigators across Cleveland Clinic
Facilitate industry contracts, collaborations and enhanced capabilities
Facilitate state-of-the-art collaborative work on clinical trials
Enhance experimental and analytical capabilities for immunogenomics and large-scale, data-rich immunology studies
Drive Cleveland Clinic's intellectual property engine in immuno-oncology
Develop immuno-oncology-driven diagnostics in partnership with CLIA-certified clinical labs
Establish a precision oncology engine at Cleveland Clinic:
- cBIO Portal: A searchable, minable portal for major genomic, transcriptomic and high-dimensional datasets for patients from Cleveland Clinic and all over the world treated with immuno-oncology therapeutics, facilitating analysis of features relevant to oncology with application-driven access for the research and clinical trials community
- Flagship precision immuno-oncology projects and industry partnerships for innovative clinical trials
- Shared resources to propel development therapeutics in the Cleveland Clinic Health System

Join Us

Exciting investigation and groundbreaking discovery happens every day at Cleveland Clinic. Join our team of expert researchers at the Center for Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology.

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