University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · PhysiologyThaxton Lab
Jessica E Thaxton · Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. Jessica E Thaxton's lab focuses on understanding how solid tumors impact the metabolism of immune cells, particularly CD8+ T cells. By studying how tumors affect lipid metabolism in these immune cells, her research aims to identify ways to enhance their function in cancer therapy. The lab's ultimate goal is to develop molecular strategies that could improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies in treating various cancers.
lipid metabolismtumor microenvironmentCD8+ T cellsimmunotherapycancer metabolismmetabolic reprogrammingCAR-T cellsenergy synthesislipid catabolismsteatosis
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how the tumor microenvironment affects CD8+ T cell metabolism.
AIM 02Identify the role of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase in lipid metabolism in TILs.
AIM 03Test the impact of manipulating lipid metabolism on CAR-T cell performance in solid tumors.
AIM 04Validate findings using clinical samples from cancer patients.
AIM 05Explore the relationship between lipid accumulation and cancer control in TILs.
Skills the Lab Values
RNA sequencinglipidomicsconfocal imagingspectral flow cytometrymouse modelsmetabolomicstumor growth studiesfatty acid analysisgenetic engineeringcell culture
Output against the department
Publications130bottom 42% of dept.167th of 286
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.0kbottom 13% of dept.250th of 286
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.