Researcher Spotlight: Caitlin Gribbin, MD

NEW YORK-PRESBYTERIAN/WEILL CORNELL

The Kellie and Jeff Fellinge Scholar

The follicular lymphoma (FL) tumor microenvironment is made up of a wide variety of non-lymphoma cells that contribute to the growth and progression of tumor cells. “We are particularly interested in the role of follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), which are abundant cells both in FL and in healthy lymphoid tissue that we hypothesize provide supportive factors to lymphoma cells and represent a potential therapeutic target in the early stages of FL formation,” Dr. Gribbin explains. Dr. Gribbin hopes that by characterizing and understanding how interactions between these cell types contribute to FL growth, novel targets will be identified that can be leveraged to interrupt signaling between these cells and effectively eradicate FL.

“The opportunity to translate scientific findings and principles to effective lymphoma-directed treatments is exciting as this field is evolving quickly and remains integrally connected to its underlying scientific principles,” says Dr. Gribbin. Building on the translational nature of her research, she hopes to develop early-phase clinical trials in lymphoma to leverage the knowledge gained to provide the best treatments possible for her patients. “Patients provide the greatest inspiration in terms of recognizing all of the work that we have yet to accomplish in effectively understanding and treating lymphoma,” she says. “It is so gratifying to be able to connect scientific advances with people who are affected by lymphoma and who can truly benefit from the emerging knowledge in the field.”

Dr. Gribbin is a hematology/oncology fellow at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in New York, NY. She credits her mentors at Weill Cornell for helping guide her career development and growth as a lymphoma researcher and specialist and is excited for the continued support of the Lymphoma Scientific Research Mentoring Program (LSRMP).