- Using immune competent mouse models that are highly representative of human lymphoma, we are modeling clinical correlates of CD19 CAR T cell treatment failure. This helps us understand the underlying mechanisms and implement engineering solutions.
- The introduction of a CAR confers a new specificity to a T cell, however, the native T cell receptor (TCR) remains intact in all approved autologous cell products, and thus CAR T cells have dual specificity. We are using vaccines to stimulate CAR T cells through their native T cell receptor to enhance engraftment and function and improve tumour control.
- Currently approved CAR T cell therapies are manufactured in a bespoke manner by lentivirus or retrovirus transduction of autologous T cells ex vivo. While the approach has generated impressive clinical benefits, the financial burden and logistical difficulties with scalability have limited broad implementation. We are collaborating with local experts in RNA and lipid nanotechnology to develop strategies to generate CAR T cells in vivo.
- CAR T cells are excellent tools to eradicate pathogenic cell subsets. We are very interested in how they can be repurposed to treat autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Selected publications
2026
Holt R, Evgin L. A gene-editing method generates immunotherapeutic CAR T cells in the body. Nature. 2026 652(8110):572-574. PMID: 41851543.
Savage G, Milne K, Collinge B, Yin Y, Loos P, Warren ME, Laumont CM, Keith D, Nelson BH, Venturutti L, Weng AP, Scott DW, Steidl C, Evgin L. Phenotypic Characterization and Prognostic Impact of CD103+ Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. Cancer Immunol Res. 2026;14(2):291-306. PMID: 41270222
2025
Bernard G, Evgin L. Non-signaling but all important: how the linker, hinge, and transmembrane domains in the CAR hold it all together. Front Immunol. 2025;16:1664403.PMID: 41221288
2024
Short L, Holt RA, Cullis PR, Evgin L. Direct in vivo CAR T cell engineering. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2024;45(5):406-418. PMID: 38614815.
2023
Loos P, Short L, Savage G, Evgin L. Expansion and Retroviral Transduction of Primary Murine T Cells for CAR T-Cell Therapy. Methods Mol Biol. 2024;2748:41-53.
2022
Evgin L, Kottke T, Tonne J, Thompson J, Huff AL, van Vloten J, Moore M, Michael J, Driscoll C, Pulido J, Swanson E, Kennedy R, Coffey M, Loghmani H, Sanchez-Perez L, Olivier G, Harrington K, Pandha H, Melcher A, Diaz RM, Vile RG. Oncolytic virus-mediated expansion of dual-specific CAR T cells improves efficacy against solid tumors in mice. Sci Transl Med. 2022 Apr 13;14(640):eabn2231.
2021
Evgin L, Vile RG. Parking CAR T Cells in Tumours: Oncolytic Viruses as Valets or Vandals? Cancers (Basel). 2021 Mar 5;13(5):1106.
2020
Evgin L, Huff AL, Wongthida P, Thompson J, Kottke T, Tonne J, Schuelke M, Ayasoufi K, Driscoll CB, Shim KG, Reynolds P, Monie DD, Johnson AJ, Coffey M, Young SL, Archer G, Sampson J, Pulido J, Perez LS, Vile R. Oncolytic virus-derived type I interferon restricts CAR T cell therapy. Nat Commun. 2020 Jun 24;11(1):3187