Kevin C. Barry, PhD

Dr. Kevin Barry studies how the immune system recognizes and responds to cancer. Immunotherapies ― drugs that aim to reactivate the immune system to kill cancer ― have revolutionized the way clinicians treat people with cancer. However, there is much still to learn to improve these therapies and help more people. Dr. Barry aims to determine how a subtype of immune cells, termed innate immune cells, recognize cancer and regulate immune responses to it. Dr. Barry previously identified a novel set of immune cells that regulate immune responses that protect patients from melanoma. The number of these cells in a patient’s tumor, he found, can identify those patients who will benefit the most from immunotherapy. Dr. Barry and his team are learning more about the signals that control this set of innate immune cells in cancer. His goal is to generate novel therapies to increase cancer-killing immune responses and save lives from cancer.