David Bhatt

David Bhatt investigates how oncogenic WNT/beta-catenin signaling in tumor cells actively excludes T cells from the tumor microenvironment, creating an immune-excluded phenotype resistant to checkpoint immunotherapy. His laboratory has mapped downstream WNT pathway effectors responsible for suppressing CCL4 and other chemokines required for dendritic cell and T cell recruitment. He identified WNT-driven immune exclusion as a distinct resistance mechanism from T cell exhaustion. His work is exploring strategies combining WNT pathway inhibition with checkpoint blockade.