Katelyn T. Byrne, PhD

Katelyn T. Byrne, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology and a member of the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care at Oregon Health and Science University.

Prior to joining the faculty at OHSU, Dr. Byrne was a Senior Parker Fellow and an Instructor of Medicine in the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania where she trained with Dr. Robert Vonderheide, and she received her doctorate from Dartmouth College, where she trained with Dr. Mary Jo Turk. Dr. Byrne’s research program utilizes a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic cancer to investigate the immunobiology of the tumor microenvironment with the goal of identifying novel targets to activate and enhance immune responses against cancer.

Translational findings from Dr. Byrne’s preclinical models have led to multiple trials using immune agonists in patients with pancreatic cancer, and observations from these patients directly impact ongoing efforts in the Byrne lab, including current investigations in to CD4 T cell mediated tumor rejection of pancreatic cancer.