Bruno Silva-Santos

Bruno Silva-Santos demonstrated that Vdelta1 gamma-delta T cells are the predominant gamma-delta subset infiltrating solid tumors and possess potent cytotoxic activity against epithelial cancers through NKG2D and DNAM-1-mediated recognition independent of MHC restriction. His work revealed the dual nature of gamma-delta T cells in cancer, showing that IL-17-producing gamma-delta T cells can promote tumor angiogenesis and neutrophil recruitment while IFN-gamma-producing subsets mediate tumor rejection. He has developed clinical-grade expansion protocols for Vdelta1 cells as allogeneic off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapy.