Mohammad Rashidian

Mohammad Rashidian

Assistant Professor of Radiology

Rashidian Laboratory
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana 728
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Tel: 857-215-5592
Email: Mohammad_Rashidian@dfci.harvard.edu 

Website: rashidianlab.dana-farber.org 
Lab Size: Between 15-20

Summary

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment, yet many patients still do not achieve effective responses. In our lab, we explore cancer immunology through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates chemical biology, protein engineering, molecular biology, and immunology. We investigate how cancer immunotherapies impact the tumor microenvironment and aim to develop innovative diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools for precise cancer detection, characterization, treatment, and prevention.

A key focus of our research is enhancing the activity and persistence of CAR T cells. Although CAR T cells have revolutionized the treatment of various blood cancers, their effectiveness often diminishes over time, leading to patient relapse. To address this, we are developing novel immunotherapeutics designed to guide CAR T cells toward a memory phenotype, potentially prolonging treatment efficacy and reducing relapse rates.

We are also leveraging protein engineering to develop novel imaging probes for detecting inflammation and early-stage cancer, as well as inflammatory-mediated diseases. Additionally, our work includes applying protein engineering to create precision therapeutics for autoimmune diseases, aiming to deliver targeted and effective treatments.

Publications

Rakhshandehroo T, Mantri SR, Moravej H, Louis BBV, Salehi Farid A, Munaretto L, Regan K, Khan RMM, Wolff A, Farkash Z, Cong M, Kuhnast A, Nili A, Lee UJ, Allen HH, Berland L, Simkova E, Uslu SC, Tavakolpour S, Rowley JE, Codet E, Shahbazian H, Baral J, Pyrdol J, Jacobson CA, Nadeem O, Nia HT, Wucherpfennig KW, Rashidian M. A CAR enhancer increases the activity and persistence of CAR T cells. Nature Biotechnology. 2024 Jul 30; PMID: 39079964

Fröse J, Rowley J, Salehi Farid A, Rakhshandehroo T, Leclerc P, Mak H, Allen H, Moravej H, Munaretto L, Millan-Barea L, Codet E, Glockner H, Jacobson C, Hemann M, Rashidian M. Development of an antigen-based approach to noninvasively image CAR T-cells in real-time and as a predictive tool. Science Advances. 2024 Sep 18.

Uslu SC, Lee UJ, Tavakolpour S, Abousaway O, Nili A, Bass L, Purwar P, Lacson E, Berland L, Kuhnast A, Clark LM, Picard D, Rakhshandehroo T, Mantri SR, Moravej H, Rashidian M. Development of a Stable Peptide–Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) via Sortase and Click Chemistry. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. American Chemical Society; 2024 Jun 14;7(6):1746–1757.

Rashidian M, LaFleur MW, Verschoor VL, Dongre A, Zhang Y, Nguyen TH, Kolifrath S, Aref AR, Lau CJ, Paweletz CP, Bu X, Freeman GJ, Barrasa MI, Weinberg RA, Sharpe AH, Ploegh HL. Immuno-PET identifies the myeloid compartment as a key contributor to the outcome of the antitumor response under PD-1 blockade. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2019 Aug 2; PMID: 31375632