Portfolio

Our Research Initiatives

Our focus is tumor immunobiology, leveraging biologically relevant tumor-immune interactions to bring new therapies to patients.

Basic Science

Behind every clinical trial is a lot of lab research. Our team works in both “wet labs” (where we do experiments with cells and mice) and “dry labs” (where we use computers to analyze big datasets).

In the lab, we combine hands-on experiments, and computational science helps us uncover hidden vulnerabilities in tumors, to exploit them to improve therapies by:

Growing tumor cells in the lab to study how they resist treatment
Mapping DNA and RNA and protein composition of tumors to discover new treatment targets and how tumors and immune cells interact
Build computer models to predict how tumors grow and how the immune system can fight back

Tumor-fighting Immune Cells (and TIL Therapy)

Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs) are special immune cells that naturally find and attack cancer. In melanoma, TIL therapy has already helped many patients.

Brain tumors are trickier, they don’t have many active immune cells, and the few that do reach the tumor often become “exhausted.” Our lab is developing new methods to find, grow, and re-energize TILs from brain tumor patients.

Our goals are to make stronger TILs that can kill brain tumors effectively, prepare these TILs in a way that meets the standards needed for future clinical trials and engineer smarter immune cells that can adapt to the cancer’s defenses

Clinical Trials

Our lab is dedicated to finding better, safer treatments for people with brain cancers such as glioblastoma and brain metastases. As we have advocated in several publications (PMID: 37488293), we systematically collect and study patient samples—including blood, spinal fluid, tumor tissue to discover biomarkers that predict who will benefit most from specific therapies in a more personalized, targeted treatments and improve patient outcomes. We have also successfully implemented the strategies we proposed (PMID: 39362262), designing and leading clinical trials that bring new therapeutic approaches to patients earlier in their disease course, when interventions have the greatest potential to succeed.

Why our work matters

Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor with an average survival of only 18–21 months, even with the best standard treatments. Many patients run out of options quickly. Our lab is working to change that by:

Designing trials for newly diagnosed patients (like ETAPA and GIANT) before the disease worsens
Bringing the latest science directly into patient care
Building a future where better, personalized treatments are available for all brain tumor patients

Our Partnerships

The Khasraw lab collaborates extensively with researchers across Duke and beyond – including internationally – to drive innovation and expand the reach of our work. Many of our clinical trials are multicenter, enabling broader patient recruitment and more robust results. We’re deeply grateful to all of our partners for their shared commitment to improving patient outcomes.

Our Projects