Innovating Lung Cancer Immunotherapy: Dr. Kellie Smith on T-Cells and Scientific Leadership

Dr. Kellie Smith is an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In this interview, Dr. Smith shares how she came to study science and specialize in T-cell immunology and immunotherapy. She also discusses how she developed an original assay for detecting anti-tumor immune responses in specific types of lung cancer, called MANASCORE. She also shares some details about the goal of comprehensively understanding immunotherapy-resistant immune cells. Dr. Smith reveals the basic thought process that led her to a focus on integrating multi-omics technologies to study tumor-reactive T cells in the setting of various cancer types, with a specific focus on lung cancer; what brought her to Johns Hopkins, and how remaining at the institution throughout her career been an asset to her research.

In a field that is highly technical and requires sustained, years-long dedication that some people could find draining or otherwise unrewarding — the big Hollywood moments are presumably rare. Dr. Smith describes how she paces herself, determines benchmarks, and frames big-picture questions that structure her work.

Finally, scientists have long worked at the center of the tension between advancing (empirical) knowledge, and the realities of socio-political and cultural pressures. Dr. Smith discusses how scientists should grapple with the current tension.

Episode Resources:

• Profile Page, Johns Hopkins Medicine
• Google Scholar Page
• Keynote Presentation: Immunogenomic Characterization of Tumor-Reactive TIL in Lung Cancers w/ Live Q&A
• Keynote Presentation: Characterizing the phenotype, function, and spatial interactions of tumor-reactive TIL

Connect & explore more: Visit The Life of Her Mind to listen, share, and access links and resources. Check out Labroots scholarship opportunities here. Submit a scientific poster to be featured in our event(s) here.