INTERNAL MEDICINE RESEARCH
Sangeetha Reddy Lab
Restoring effective antigen presentation to enhance anti-tumor immunity in breast cancers
From bedside to bench and back to bedside
Despite the success of immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade in other solid tumors, these therapies have limited effectiveness in breast cancer, especially in metastasis. Antigen-presenting cells are critical to initiate anti-tumor immunity and for efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade and are deficient in breast cancers. Dr. Reddy’s research focuses on restoring effective antigen presentation to enhance anti-tumor immunity in breast cancers.
Dr. Reddy is a translational investigator conducting bidirectional research from the bedside to bench and back to bedside. She is a principal investigator on multiple clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy in breast cancer as well as other solid tumors. She also leads institutional efforts to deeply immune-profile breast cancers using several single cell technologies to study biomarkers and pharmacodynamics. This patient work is supplemented by preclinical murine studies.
Opportunities exist for laboratory members to participate in research along this translational spectrum.
Meet the Principal Investigator
Sangeetha Reddy, M.D., M.S.C.I.
Dr. Reddy obtained her undergraduate education at Harvard University followed by medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles. She subsequently completed her Internal Medicine residency at Northwestern where she also obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Degree. She then received her oncology training at MD Anderson Cancer Center where she remained on faculty as a Research Instructor to study the tumor immune microenvironment of high-risk cancers.
Lab Members
Shruthi Nooka, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Sharda Kumari, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Preteesh Leo Mylabathula, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., M.S.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Ashley Vu, Ph.D.
Laboratory Manager
Featured Publications
Kumar A, Ramani V, Bharti V, de Lima Bellan D, Saleh N, Uzhachenko R, Shen C, Arteaga C, Richmond A, Reddy SM* (*co-corresponding), Vilgelm A*. Dendritic cell therapy augments antitumor immunity triggered by CDK4/6 inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade by unleashing systemic CD4 T-cell responses. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 2023 May 1;11(5):e006019.
Lee K, Lin C, Servetto A, [...], Reddy SM, Yum S, Chang C, Hutchinson K, Yost S, Yuan Y, Chen Z, Fu Y, Hanker A, Arteaga CL. Epigenetic repression of STING by MYC promotes immune evasion and resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer. Cancer Immunol Res. 2022 Jul 1;10(7):829-843.
Arjmandi F, Mootz A, Farr D, Reddy SM, Dogan B. New horizons in imaging and surgical assessment of breast cancer lymph node metastasis. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2021 Jun;187(2): 311-322.
Li X, Kumar S, Harmanci A, Li S, Kitchen RR, Zhang Y, Wali VB, Reddy SM, [...] Gerstein M. Whole-genome sequencing of phenotypically distinct inflammatory breast cancers reveals similar genomic alterations to non-inflammatory breast cancers. Genome Med. 2021 Apr 26;13(1): 70.
Marron T, Ryan AE, Reddy SM, […] Guerriero J. Considerations for treatment duration in responders to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 2021 Mar;9(3):e001901.
Mitra A, Andrews MC, Roh W, Petaccia De Macedo M, Hudgens CW, Carapeto F, Singh S, Reuben A, Wang F, Mao X, Song X, Wani K, Tippen S, Ng K, Schalck A, Sakellariou-Thompson D, Chen E, Reddy SM, […] Futreal A. Spatially resolved analyses link genomic and immune diversity and reveal unfavorable neutrophil activation in melanoma. Nat Commun. 2020 Apr 15;11(1): 1839.
Reddy SM, Carroll E, Nanda R. Atezolizumab for the treatment of breast cancer. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2020 Mar;20(3):151-158.
Helmink BH*, Reddy SM* (*co-first authorship), Gao J, Zhang S, Sade-Feldman M, Yizhak K, Blando J, Han G, Zhao H, Tawbi H, Amaria RN, Davies MA, Hwu P, Lee JE, Gershenwald J, Burton EM, Haydu L, Lazar AJ, Hudgens CW, Cogdill A, Keung E, Gopalakrishnan V, Reuben A, Andrews MC, Spencer CN, Butterfield, Allison J, Tetzlaff MT, Wu C, Hacohen N, Sharma P, Wang L, Wargo JA. B-cells and tertiary lymphoid structures predict immune checkpoint blockade response. Nature. 2020 Jan;577(7791):549-555.
Reddy SM, Reuben AR, Barua S, Zhang S, Jiang H, Tetzlaff MT, Gopalakrishnan V, Reuben J, Wang L, Tsujikawa T, Wani K, He Y, Rao A, Villareal L, Wood A, Woodward W, Ueno NT, Krishnamurthy S, Mittendorf EM, Wargo J. Poor Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Correlates with Mast Cell Infiltration in Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Cancer Immunol Res. 2019 May 1.
Amaria RN*, Reddy SM* (*co-first authorship), Tawbi H, Davies M, Ross M, Glitza I, Cormier J, Lewis CM, Hwu WJ, Hanna EY, […] Tetzlaff MT, Wargo J. Neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade in high-risk resectable melanoma. Nature Medicine. 2018 Nov;24(11):1649-1654.
Sade-Feldman M, Yizhak K, Bjorgaard SL, Ray JP, De Boer, CG, Jenkins RW, Lieb DJ, Chen JH, Frederick DT, Barzily-Rokni M, Freeman SS, Reuben A, Hoover PJ, Villani A, Ivanova E, Portell A, Lizotte PH, Aref AR, Eliane J, Hammon MR, Vitzthum H, Blackmon SM, Li B, Gopalakrishnan V, Reddy SM, […] Hacohen N. Defining T cell states associated with response to checkpoint immunotherapy in melanoma. Cell. 2018 Nov 1;175(4):998-1013.e20.
Amaria RN, Prieto PA, Tetzlaff MT, Reuben A, Andrews MC, Ross MI, Glitza IC, Cormier J, Hwu WJ, Tawbi HA, Patel SP, Lee JE, Gershenwald JE, Spencer CN, Gopalakrishnan V, Bassett R, Simpson L, Mouton R, Hudgens CW, Zhao L, Zhu H, Cooper ZA, Wani K, Lazar A, Hwu P, Diab A, Wong MK, McQuade JL, Royal R, Lucci A, Burton EM, Reddy S, […] Wargo JA. Neoadjuvant plus adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib versus standard of care in patients with high-risk, surgically resectable melanoma: a single-centre, open-label, randomized, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2018 Feb;19(2):181-193
Gopalakrishnan V, Spencer C, Nezi L, Reuben A, Andrews M, Karpinets T, Prieto P, Vicente D, Hoffman K, Wei S, Cogdill A, Zhao L, Hudgens C, Hutchinson D, Manzo T, Petaccia de Macedo M, Cotechini R, Kumar T, Chen WS, Reddy S, […] Wargo J. Gut microbiome impacts response to PD-1 immunotherapy in melanoma patients. Science. 2018 Jan 5;359(6371):97-103.
Reddy SM, Barcenas C, Sinha A, Hsu L, Moulder S, Tripathy D, Hortobagyi G, Valero V. Long-term survival outcomes of triple-receptor negative breast cancer survivors who are disease-free at 5 years and relationship with low hormone receptor positivity. British Journal of Cancer. 2018 Jan;118(1):17-23.
Gall V, Philips A, Qiao N, Clise-Dwyer K, Perakis A, Zhang M, Clifton G, Sukhumalchandra P, Ma Q, Reddy SM, Yu D, Molldrem J, Peoples G, Alatrash G, Mittendorf E. Trastuzumab Increases HER2 Uptake and Cross-Presentation by Dendritic Cells. Cancer Research. 2017 Oct 1;77(19):5374-5383.
Shaitelman SF, Stauder MC, Allen P, Reddy S, Lakoski S, Atkinson B, Reddy J, Amaya D, Guerra W, Ueno N, Caudle A, Tereffe W, Woodward WA. Impact of Statin Use on Outcomes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer. J Cancer 2017;8(11):2026-2032.
Szczepaniak R, Golapalakrishnan V, Reddy SM, Zhang X, Reuben A, Wargo JA. Interaction of molecular alterations with immune response in melanoma. Cancer. 2017 Jun 1;123(S11):2130-2142.
Reuben A, Spencer CN, Prieto PA, Gopalakrishnan V, Reddy SM, […] Wargo J. Genomic and immune heterogeneity are associated with differential responses to therapy in melanoma. NPJ Genomic Medicine. 2017 April 7;2(10).
Roh W, Chen PL, Reuben A, Spencer CN, Prieto PA, Miller JP, Gopalakrishnan V, Wang F, Cooper ZA, Reddy SM, […] Wargo J. Integrated molecular analysis of tumor biopsies on sequential CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade reveals markers of response and resistance. Sci Transl Med. 2017 Mar 1;9(379).
Chen PL, Roh W, Reuben A, Cooper ZA, Spencer CN, Prieto PA, Miller JP, Bassett RL, Gopalakrishnan V, Wani K, De Macedo MP, Austin-Breneman JL, Jiang H, Chang Q, Reddy SM, […] Wargo J. Analysis of immune signatures in longitudinal tumor samples yields insights into biomarkers of response and mechanisms of resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. Cancer Discov. 2016 Aug;6(8):827-37.
Wargo JA*, Reddy SM* (*co-first authorship), Reuben A, Sharma P. Monitoring immune responses in the tumor microenvironment. Current Opinion in Immunology. 2016 Aug;41:23-31.
Reddy SM, Reuben A, Wargo JA. Influences of BRAF inhibitors on the immune microenvironment and the rationale for combined molecular and immune targeted therapy. Current Oncology Reports. 2016 Jul;18(7):42.
Reddy SM, Vergo MT, Paice JA, Kwon N, Helenowski IB, Benson AB, Mulcahy MF, Nimeiri H, Harden RN. Quantitative sensory testing at baseline and during cycle 1 oxaliplatin infusion detects subclinical peripheral neuropathy and predicts clinically overt chronic neuropathy in gastrointestinal malignancies. Clinical Colorectal Cancer. 2016 Mar;15(1):37-46.
Reddy SM, Gallick G, Eng C. Phase II Study of Saracatinib (AZD0530) in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer. Invest New Drugs. 2015, 33(4): 977-984.
Reddy SM, Sadim M, Helenowski IB, Li J, Yi N, Kaklamani VG. Clinical and genetic predictors of weight gain in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. British Journal of Cancer. 2013, 109:872-881.
Reddy S, Raffin M, Kaklamani V. Targeting angiogenesis in metastatic breast cancer. The Oncologist. 2012, 17(8):1014-1026.
Reddy SM, Vergo M, Benson AB. Prognostic and predictive markers in colorectal cancer. Current Colorectal Cancer Reports. 2011, 7(4).
Reddy SM, Winston DJ, Territo MC, Schiller GJ. CMV central nervous system disease in stem-cell transplant recipients: an increasing complication of drug-resistant cytomegalovirus infection and protracted immunodeficiency. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2010, 45:979-984.
Contact Us
Sangeetha Reddy, M.D., M.S.C.I.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
Division of Hematology and Oncology
Join Our Lab
The Reddy Lab is seeking motivated postdoctoral fellows interested in cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Reach out to us below if you are an interested applicant.