Christopher E. Rudd
Full time professor (accredited) at Universit茅 de Montr茅al
Full member of the 平特五不中 Centre for Translational Research
![Christopher E. Rudd Christopher E. Rudd](/translational-research-cancer/files/translational-research-cancer/styles/medium_focal__220_x_220_/public/christopher-e.-rudd1.jpg?itok=kxySrK5t)
Dr. Rudd鈥檚 research focuses on receptors and signalling pathways of T-cells of the immune system that control reactivity and the rejection of tumors. His lab discovered the CD4 and CD8-p56lck complexes and adaptor proteins that initiate the protein tyrosine phosphorylation and activation cascade in T lymphocytes, as well as pathways that account for CD28, CTLA-4 and ICOS co-receptor function. His lab鈥檚 work helped to lay the foundation for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) cancer therapy which employs immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) (targets of p56lck) as well as CD28 signaling PI 3K binding motifs that were identified by Rudd's lab. More recently, his lab has identified the serine-threonine kinase, glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3), as the central regulator of the expression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) on T cells and has demonstrated the therapeutic feasibility of small molecules inhibitors (SMIs) of GSK-3 in anti-tumor immunity. The lab also has additional SMIs in the pipeline against other key mediators of T-cell function for translation into clinical trials for the treatment of melanoma and leukemias.