Meghan J. O’Melia

This study identifies sex-biased mechanisms of immune aging in males, showing lymph node contraction reduces naive CD8 T cell availability and compromises cancer antigen recognition, with potential therapeutic interventions.

The paper shows that removing tumor-draining lymph nodes does not impair immune checkpoint blockade response, as distant lymph nodes compensate for the loss.

This study identifies NaV1.3 as a druggable target in adult lymphatic muscle that can restore contractility in aging and radiation injury.

This study shows that breast tumors impair antigen presentation in local lymph nodes, which can be overcome by delivering IL1β or adjuvants to distant lymph nodes, improving anti-cancer immune responses.

This study shows oncolytic virus therapy primarily elicits anti-virus T cell responses rather than anti-cancer responses, explaining limited clinical efficacy in metastatic disease.

This study creates a single-cell transcriptomic atlas of lymphatic muscle cells in mice across ages, revealing age-related transcriptional changes and a pro-inflammatory environment in aged cells.