Understanding Immune Hubs to Improve Immunotherapy

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Our Research

Our lab studies the cellular interactions that shape immune responses in human tumors, focusing on how these responses are regulated. Using a combination of large-scale genomic analyses and tissue imaging approaches, we have identified hubs in tumor tissues where tumor cells come into close contact with immune cells. By characterizing the cells in these hubs, and the gene networks that are turned on in these cells, our lab aims to uncover novel ways to harness the immune system in the fight against cancer.

Our Partners

Our People

We are a brand new lab located at the Gladstone Institutes in sunny Mission Bay looking for passionate students and postdoctoral fellows to join us in our mission to decode the cellular interaction networks that shape immune responses in human tumors. We are excited to grow into a cross-disciplinary, collaborative and diverse lab that includes clinicians, immunologists, geneticists, cancer researchers, and computational biologists.

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Stay Updated

Keep up-to-date with the latest research from the Pelka lab.

Recent Lab News

April 2025

This month, we welcomed Bella to our lab as a new rotation student - hope you've settled in well, Bella!

Karin was busy traveling from conference to conference, but what's new - an invited seminar speaker at the University of Utah and an invited attendee at the Spring PICI Symposium in Healdsburg and the AACR Conference in Chicago. Phew!

The lab also made very smart business decisions this month, like hosting a Friday Happy Hour 🥂 always remembering to celebrate the big and small wins!

May 2025

We kicked off May by having our first scientific lab retreat of the year in Genentech Hall!

Shortly after, we welcomed weeks of traveling, supergroups, and seminars. Karin co-hosted and attended the Keystone Symposia in Whistler, Canada. Han was also an invited speaker at the conference and wowed the crowd with her presentation (same old, same old).

We also happened to celebrate four birthdays this month... the lab's Taurus energy is simply astronomical.

June 2025

This month, the lab attended the Annual GIGI Retreat, and Anderson, Jingya, Karin, Anna, and Sara all presented (...are we on a roll or what)!

We also welcomed Yazmin to the lab as a student intern - so happy you've joined the team, Yazmin!

To sum up, the summer season is off to a productive start 🌼