Beth Kelly

Beth Kelly elucidated the critical role of amino acid metabolism in anti-tumor immune responses, demonstrating that arginine availability controls T cell survival and anti-tumor function through regulation of the urea cycle and polyamine synthesis pathway, and that tumors deplete arginine through arginase expression to suppress T cell immunity. Her work on one-carbon metabolism in activated T cells revealed that serine and folate metabolism provide essential building blocks for nucleotide synthesis and epigenetic modifications required for T cell clonal expansion against tumors. She develops amino acid supplementation and metabolic bypass strategies to overcome tumor-imposed metabolic restrictions on anti-tumor immunity.