Gartrell Lab

Dr. Robyn Gartrell joined the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics as an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in 2019 and began studying the immune system in childhood tumors. The Gartrell Lab specializes in the evaluation of immune response to tumors through computational approaches as well as tissue-based spatial relationships. 

When immune cells are recruited to the tumor site, they are usually inactivated by cancer cells, often through mechanisms of bypassing immune cell checkpoints. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been incorporated into the clinic for their role in preventing this interaction between tumor and immune cells and therefore keeping the immune cells activated and alert. Although many adult cancers have had great success with immunotherapy, pediatric tumors often do not respond. One of the primary reasons for this is because there are too few immune cells recruited to the tumor site in the first place. Importantly, it has been shown that radiation can recruit immune cells and activate these cells to target the tumor. Using radiation could therefore maximize the response to immunotherapy when used in combination and may be more appropriate for children, especially those with brain tumors, who receive radiation as standard of care. 

The Gartrell Lab at CUIMC investigates combination strategies with the goal of using immunotherapy with standard radiation and/or chemotherapy to treat fatal childhood brain tumors and solid tumors. Dr. Gartrell leads preclinical work in her laboratory that is directly used for developing concepts to treat children with immunotherapy.  

In 2021, Gartrell Lab began to study a novel radiation modality called FLASH, or ultra-high dose-rate radiation, which could potentially spare more healthy tissue while having equal tumor killing capabilities as conventional dose-rate radiation. In the context of brain tumors, FLASH has also been shown to preserve neurocognitive functions better than the conventional dose, an important consideration in childhood morbidity. The lab recently completed a project using single cell RNA sequencing to evaluate the immune microenvironment after treatment with FLASH or conventional dose-rate radiation. Understanding how radiation affects the immune microenvironment will help us determine the best combination with immunotherapy. 

The Gartrell Lab’s exploration of the tumor immune microenvironment both at baseline and in conjunction with different types of combination therapies moves us one step closer to finding an effective treatment for childhood cancers for which there are few treatment options. Dr. Gartrell also mentors multiple levels of trainees including undergraduate and medical students as well as residents and fellows. The lab is supported by NIH funds as well as support from Swim Across America, Hyundai Hope on Wheels, and Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Foundation.