Researcher Profile Form First National Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Meeting March 9, 2025 - Jerusalem
Researcher: Dr. Gal Cafri
Current Role & Affiliation
Title/Position: Researcher
Institution: Sheba Medical Center
Email: gal.cafri@sheba.health.gov.il
Phone: 054-5879212
Dr. Cafri leads a research lab at Sheba Medical Center conducting preclinical research and clinical trial development focused on T-cell receptor-based cell therapies.
Research Focus
● Translational cancer immunotherapy
● Personalized vaccines
● T-cell receptor-based cell therapies
● Brain and epithelial cancers
Current Projects Related to Pediatric Brain Tumors
● Development of T-cell receptor therapies targeting brain cancers
● Preclinical research on immune-based therapies
Laboratory/Research Resources
● Platforms for T-cell receptor identification
● Clinical trial development capabilities
Collaboration Interests
● Immunotherapy advancements for pediatric brain tumors
● Cell-based therapeutic strategies
What You Can Offer Potential Collaborators
● Expertise in T-cell receptor therapies
● Clinical trial development insights
Selected Publications
1. Khazan-Kost S, et.al. Soluble HLA peptidome of pleural effusions is a valuable source for tumor antigens.J Immunother Cancer. 2022 May;10(5):e003733.
2. Leko V, et.al. .Identification of neoantigen-reactive T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of a patient with glioblastoma.J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Jul;9(7):e002882.
3. Cafri G, et.al. Rosenberg SA.mRNA vaccine-induced neoantigen-specific T cell immunity in patients with gastrointestinal cancer.J Clin Invest. 2020 Nov 2;130(11):5976-5988.
Keywords
Cancer Immunotherapy, T-cell Receptors, Personalized Vaccines, Epithelial Cancers, GD-2
Brief Bio
Dr. Cafri specialized in tumor immunology and cancer immunotherapy. For the last 18 years, Dr. Cafri studies the interactions between tumors and the immune system. He began his career working on chimeric molecules to enhance vaccine activity against skin cancer at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Later on, Dr. Cafri spent 4.5 years at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Maryland, specializing in treating patients with immune cells directed against cancer mutations.
During his time at the NCI, Dr. Cafri was responsible for developing two clinical trials aiming to vaccinate cancer patients with their tumor mutations. Dr. Cafri also developed a method to isolate tumor-specific immune cells from patients’ blood . Dr. Cafri lab develops CAR T cells terapy .
