Immunotherapy has significantly transformed the treatment of various diseases, including several cancer types. It works by boosting or restoring the immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate pathogenic cells that often escape immune detection. This field encompasses a range of approaches aimed at stimulating or harnessing the immune system. Currently, several approaches are being developed that combine biological engineering with immunology, a field known as immune engineering. Immune engineering further advances immunotherapy by developing smarter, more effective, and safer methods to modify immune components like T cells, antibodies, and other immune molecules. While immunotherapies have shown great promise, continued efforts and innovations are needed to improve their safety, effectiveness, affordability, and applicability across different cancers and other challenging diseases.

Our Immunotherapy and Immune engineering (IIE) laboratory at IISER Bhopal aims to perform research focusing on the following key areas:

1. Exploration of the roles of Siglecs or Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins in regulation of immune cell signaling, their role in different cancer processes, and exploration of approaches to target Siglecs for targeted cancer therapy.

2. Exploration of tumor specific receptors as important immunotherapy targets and approaches to exploit them for targeted destruction of tumor cells 

3. Antibody development and engineering:

a. Novel Monoclonal antibody clone development, characterization and detailed pre-clinical evaluation

b. Engineering of antibodies to enhance their binding ability and improve functionality

c. Engineering and evaluation of bispecific/multipspecific immune cell engagers with the ability to bind  pathogenic cells and immune cells (NK, T or others) simultaneously, directing targeted destrcuction of the pathogenic cells.

These approaches/platforms have applicability beyond cancer and the lab visions to extend them to other diseases of concern as well.