The objective of our laboratory is the study of the pathogenesis and host response to cancer. Studies from our lab and others have shown that the immune response to cancer is directed in large part toward self-antigens.

The laboratory has had a long-standing interest in the biology of melanoma and melanocytes and the diagnosis and therapy of melanoma.

Investigators in this laboratory were among the first to develop monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer, including an anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody vaccine. Over the last decade, we have placed special emphasis on discovering molecular targets on cancer cells for vaccination.

Over the last decade, we have identified a series of molecules that are differentially expressed by cancer cells than their normal cell counterparts. One group of molecules has particularly attracted our interest: the cell-surface ectopeptidases in the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) family.