GEAR: Integrating a multimodal approach to address current challenges in immunotherapy (INTEGRAL)

Utilizing the immune system or components thereof has grown to be a powerful therapeutic option in cancer, supplementing traditional therapies such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, not all patients respond equally well to immune-based therapies, highlighting the need for improving immunotherapy outcome. The INTEGRAL IOF programme aims to reinforce the complementary offering of expertise, know-how, knowledge and technologies originating from 3 VUB laboratories (In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging; Cellular and Molecular Immunology; Molecular and Cellular Therapy), to address this issue, by offering tools for combining immune activation (ACTIVATION) with negating immunosuppressive cues (MODULATION), steering drug development (MODE OF ACTION analysis) and driving patient selection and monitoring of therapy response (via in vivo IMAGING). .