Avery Posey, PhD

Avery D. Posey, Jr., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, a member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and a Research Health Scientist at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Posey holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Chicago, a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and a second B.S. in Bioinformatics from UMBC.

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Dr. Posey completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Carl June, where he generated glycosylation-specific chimeric antigen receptors to precisely target tumor-glycoforms of MUC1. The Posey Laboratory focuses on the development of novel cancer therapies for humans and dogs that genetically alter cancer patients’ own T cells to improve the ability of the immune system to fight cancer. This research involves antigen discovery to identify tumor-specific targets, engineering strategies to surmount the tumor microenvironment, and altering the signaling influences of T cells to develop robust anti-tumor efficacy.