Researcher Spotlight: Tianfang Ma, PhD
Dana-farber cancer institute
Health Equity Initiative

Immunotherapies that activate the immune system against cancer cells have yielded promising results for many patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but not all people respond to treatment. The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) – that is, the network of immune cells, signaling molecules, and support cells that surround the tumor – may play a role in influencing how well these therapies work. Dr. Ma’s research aims to characterize the relationship between the TIME and known genetic changes in DLBCL, with the goal of understanding how these factors may influence response to immunotherapies. “By mapping the interaction between genetic mutations and the TIME, we seek to identify key features that predict treatment response,” he explains. “This comprehensive framework could improve our ability to predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapies like CAR T-cell treatment and immune cell engagers.”
Dr. Ma completed his graduate training at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He is currently a medical oncology research fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where his current research focuses on the use of molecular and computational techniques to better understand the efficacy of immunotherapies at the single-cell level. “These insights will provide a critical conceptual framework to evaluate the efficacy of new targeted and immune cell therapies in specific clinical contexts and identify potential
complementary treatment targets,” he says.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the invaluable support from the Foundation,” says Dr. Ma. “The Foundation’s unwavering commitment to lymphoma research continues to inspire researchers like me to strive for discoveries that can improve the lives of lymphoma patients worldwide.” With the support of the Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant, Dr. Ma hopes to establish himself as an independent investigator dedicated not only to understanding immune evasion in lymphoma and enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapies but also to creating new learning opportunities for the next generation of lymphoma researchers.