Walter J. Storkus, Ph.D.

Walter J. Storkus, Ph.D.

Contact

Campus: 200 Lothrop St

Office: W1151 BST

Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Ph: 412-648-9981

Fax: 412-383-5857

storkuswj@upmc.edu

Education

  • B.A. - Brandeis University
  • Ph.D. - Duke University
  • Postdoc - Duke University

Academic Affiliation

  • Professor, Department of Dermatology
  • Professor, Department of Immunology
  • Member, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

About Research

Dr. Storkus’ research over the past 20 years has focused on the immunobiology and immunotherapy of melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. He has defined novel vaccines and cytokine gene therapy approaches targeting tumor cells and stromal cells within the tumor microenvironment that have been translated from murine tumor models into the clinic. Development of combinational immunotherapies including vaccines and immunomodulatory compounds capable of neutralizing suppressor cell populations have most recently been of primary interest. 

Selected Publications

Lowe DB, Bose A, Taylor JL, Tawbi H, Lin Y, Kirkwood JM, Storkus WJ. Dasatinib promotes the expansion of a therapeutically superior T-cell repertoire in response to dendritic cell vaccination against melanoma. Oncoimmunology. 2014;3:e27589.

Chi Sabins N, Taylor JL, Fabian KP, Appleman LJ, Maranchie JK, Stolz DB, Storkus WJ. DLK1: a novel target for immunotherapeutic remodeling of the tumor blood vasculature. Mol Ther. 2013;21:1958-68.

Chen L, Taylor JL, Sabins NC, Lowe DB, Qu Y, You Z, Storkus WJ. Extranodal induction of therapeutic immunity in the tumor microenvironment after intratumoral delivery of Tbet gene-modified dendritic cells. Cancer Gene Ther. 2013;20:469-77.

Rao A, Taylor JL, Chi-Sabins N, Kawabe M, Gooding WE, Storkus WJ. Combination therapy with HSP90 inhibitor 17-DMAG reconditions the tumor microenvironment to improve recruitment of therapeutic T cells. Cancer Res. 2012;72:3196-206.

Zhao X, Bose A, Komita H, Taylor JL, Chi N, Lowe DB, Okada H, Cao Y, Mukhopadhyay D, Cohen PA, Storkus WJ. Vaccines targeting tumor blood vessel antigens promote CD8+ T cell-dependent tumor eradication or dormancy in HLA-A2 transgenic mice. J Immunol. 2012;188:1782-8.

View Complete Publications Listing

Research Interests

  • Characterization of antigens expressed differentially by tumor cells or cells within the tumor-associated stroma
  • Development of vaccines for the treatment of melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and head-and-neck carcinomas
  • Development of immunogene therapies for cancer
  • Monitoring and manipulating the balance of Type-1 versus non-Type-1 T cell responses to tumors
  • Analyzing combinational therapies for their potential to correct immune dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment