I train the immune system to recognize and fight cancer.
PhD candidate, Spranger Lab, Koch Institute at MIT
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Follow a therapeutic cancer vaccine through the body, one step at a time. Tap a number to jump to that step.
STEP 1 OF 5
The vaccine
A therapeutic cancer vaccine delivers tumor antigens, molecular signatures found on cancer cells, so the immune system can learn to recognize the tumor.
STEP 2 OF 5
Dendritic cell pickup
Dendritic cells, the immune system's sentinels, capture these antigens and migrate to nearby lymph nodes to present them.
STEP 3 OF 5
Lymph node training
Within the lymph node, dendritic cells present the antigens to CD8+ T cells, activating those that recognize the tumor.
STEP 4 OF 5
T cell army
Once activated, these tumor-specific CD8+ T cells multiply rapidly into a large population of effector cells.
STEP 5 OF 5
Tumor attack
Effector T cells circulate through the body, infiltrate the tumor, and eliminate cancer cells that display the target antigen.
I study how the route of therapeutic vaccination shapes anti-tumor immunity, with a focus on how dendritic cells and CD8+ T cells interact.
By combining immune engineering with mouse tumor models, I aim to understand how the quality of T cell responses is tuned, and to use those insights for the rational design of immunotherapy.
Now · 2021–present
MIT, Koch Institute
Spranger Lab
Therapeutic cancer vaccines and the dendritic cell–CD8+ T cell interactions they trigger, in models of lung cancer.
Before · 2019–2021
UCSF, Helen Diller Cancer Center
McCormick Lab
The biochemistry of RIT1, a RAS-family protein, and how it drives MAPK signaling in disease.
Where it began · 2016–2019
UC Davis
Huising Lab
Hormone signaling and cell identity in pancreatic islets, plus building an automated image-analysis tool.
Radiation therapy synergizes with mRNA vaccination to overcome microglia-mediated suppression of dendritic cell migration and T cell priming in glioblastoma
Wisdom, A.J., et al.
Vaccines combining slow release and follicle targeting of antigens increase germinal center B cell diversity and clonal expansion
Rodrigues, K., et al.
Expansion of tumor-reactive CD8+ T cell clonotypes occurs in the spleen in response to immune checkpoint blockade
Morgan, D., Horton, B., Bhandarkar, V., Van, R., Dinter, T., Zagorulya, M., Love, J.C., Spranger, S.
Ras-dependent RAF-MAPK hyperactivation by pathogenic RIT1 is a therapeutic target in Noonan syndrome-associated cardiac hypertrophy
Cuevas-Navarro, A., Wagner, M., Van, R., Swain, M., … McCormick, F., Stephen, A., Castel, P.
The seventh international RASopathies symposium: Pathways to a cure, expanding knowledge, enhancing research, and therapeutic discovery
Kontaridis, M., et al.
The RAS GTPase RIT1 compromises mitotic fidelity through spindle assembly checkpoint suppression
Cuevas-Navarro, A., Van, R., Cheng, A., Urisman, A., Castel, P., McCormick, F.
The molecular functions of RIT1 and its contribution to human disease
Van, R., Cuevas-Navarro, A., Castel, P., McCormick, F.
Genetic deletion of Urocortin 3 does not prevent functional maturation of beta cells
Huang, J.L., Lee, S., Hoek, P., van der Meulen, T., Van, R., Huising, M.O.
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2026
David H. Koch Graduate Fellowship
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
2026
Early Career Investigator Award
Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
2025
Keystone Symposia Scholarship
Keystone Symposia on Cancer Immunotherapy
2025
Peter Karches Mentorship Prize
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
2026 · Joseph C. Jefferds, Jr. Travel Award, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT
2024 · School of Science Quality of Life Award, MIT School of Science
2023 · Spot Appreciation Award, MIT School of Science
2021 · Presidential Graduate Fellowship, MIT Office of Graduate Education
2021 · Junior Investigator Award, International RASopathies Symposium
2019 · Departmental Citation Award, UC Davis Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2019 · Distinguished Scholar Award, UC Davis College of Biological Sciences
2018 · Stanley & Jacqueline Schilling Undergraduate Research Award, UC Davis College of Biological Sciences
2017–18 · Provost's Undergraduate Fellowship, UC Davis Undergraduate Research Center
2015–19 · Dean's Honor List (6 quarters), UC Davis College of Biological Sciences
As a first-generation college graduate, I care about opening doors in science. I received the Peter Karches Mentorship Prize in 2025 and served as Vice President of External Affairs for Graduate First-Gen/Low-Income@MIT.
High school mentor
2026
Co-mentored an international high school student during a one-week lab visit, providing hands-on wet lab experience and a first look at cancer research.
MSRP mentor
2025
Mentored a visiting undergraduate from a non-traditional background, guiding them in immunology, scientific communication, and project development.
UROP mentor
2023–2025
Guided an MIT undergraduate through research, writing, and presenting, and coached them through graduate school applications and interviews.
Teaching assistant
2022, 2025
Led recitations and office hours for introductory biology and biochemistry, and earned the MIT Biology Pedagogy Certificate.
Graduate application mentor
2021, 2022
Helped applicants from underrepresented and non-traditional backgrounds navigate graduate school applications.
Earlier: peer tutor and learning assistant at UC Davis (2016–2019). More teaching and mentoring in my full CV.
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San Francisco kid, first in my family to go to college, tennis player, and Clifford's favorite human.
Follow the ball through my storyThe ball follows along as you read. Tap a number to jump to that stop.
Stop 1 of 5
San Francisco
Where I grew up.
Stop 2 of 5
UC Davis
First in my family to go to college, where I fell in love with research.
Stop 3 of 5
The class that hooked me
An immunology class taught by the professor whose lab I worked in. How does the body recognize almost anything foreign, but not itself?
Stop 4 of 5
UCSF
My first foray into cancer research.
Stop 5 of 5
East Coast, MIT
A leap of faith across the country to chase my dream: using immunology to improve lives.
Meet the tiny cells that help fight cancer. Swipe to meet the next one.
1 of 5 · The messenger
Vaccine particle
A tiny package that carries a piece of the tumor, like a wanted poster, so the immune system knows exactly what to look for.
FUN FACT
Some vaccines, like the mRNA COVID vaccines, wrap their message in tiny fatty bubbles like this one.
2 of 5 · The scout
Dendritic cell
Dendritic cells patrol the body, grab anything suspicious, and carry it to the lymph nodes to raise the alarm.
FUN FACT
They're named for their branch-like arms, after the Greek word dendron, meaning tree.
3 of 5 · The training camp
Lymph node
Small, bean-shaped hubs where scouts meet T cells and show them the wanted poster. You have hundreds of them.
FUN FACT
Swollen glands when you're sick? That's your lymph nodes getting busy training immune cells.
4 of 5 · The defender
Killer T cell
Once trained, killer T cells multiply into an army and hunt down any cell carrying the wanted poster.
FUN FACT
A single trained T cell can multiply into thousands of copies in about a week.
5 of 5 · The target
Cancer cells
Cancer cells are our own cells gone rogue, which makes them hard for the immune system to spot. My research looks for ways to help it.
FUN FACT
Your immune system quietly catches and clears many abnormal cells before they ever become a problem.
When I'm not in the lab, you'll probably find me on a tennis court, out with Clifford, or deep in a board game.
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