Avraham Travers

• Basic and translational cancer immunology with a focus on CD8 T cell differentiation, tolerance, exhaustion. 

My prior research experience includes basic, translational, and clinical research. I have almost 10 years experience as a clinical trial investigator in solid tumor oncology studies, including phase I-III and investigator-initiated studies. I have published clinical retrospective data projects ranging from single-site to multi-national datasets. My most recent research activities involve my laboratory PhD studies in Australia where I studied CD8+ T cell peripheral tolerance in both mouse models and patient colorectal cancer samples. Using a transgenic mouse tolerance model and CRISPR gene editing, I explored immune regulators of tolerance and strategies to disrupt tolerance with a view to driving CD8 T cell activation and effector differentiation. In parallel, using fresh colorectal cancer patient tumor and lymph node samples, I used scRNAseq profiling to identify tolerant CD8 T cells in the human cancer context. Using these data, we described a gene signature (unpublished) that was highly specific for CD8 T cell tolerance in both human and mouse datasets. Further validation work is required, however the future goal for this work is to translate the preclinical findings into a treatment strategy to harness the anti-tumor potential of tumor specific tolerant CD8 T cells.

Having only just relocated to Canada, my vision for my ongoing research activities is not yet defined. I will remain peripherally involved in the ongoing tolerance work conducted by my previous lab in Australia, and may at some stage be able to conduct some of the clinical or translational elements here locally. More broadly however, I am seeking new collaborations, specifically within the cancer immunology space, where I can bring my clinical solid tumor expertise, wet lab scientific experience and access to patients to the table and support existing investigators and research groups.