Mesenchymal stromal cell heterogeneity: implication for their clinical application

Dr Karin Tarte has a background in Immunology and Hemato-oncology with a continuous focus on B-cell malignancies. Her research is in particular dedicated to the understanding of normal and malignant tumor niches, with a specific interest for the mechanisms of the co-evolution of tumor clones and their supportive microenvironment, including stromal cells. She heads a research unit of about 30 people, gathering clinicians and biologists, dedicated to basic and translational research in the field of lymphoma. In agreement, she is involved in several research and clinical programs dealing with the understanding of the role of tumor microenvironment and how it could be a target for new therapeutic strategies and/or provide predictive and prognostic biomarkers. As a PI and co-investigator of several programs from the French NCI (INCa) and French National Research Agency (ANR) she had the opportunity to develop fruitful collaborations with national and international academic and industrial partners leading to publications of highly cited papers and contributing to the design and monitoring of new clinical trials sponsored by the Lymphoma Study Association (LYSA). She is also strongly involved in translational and clinical research on mesenchymal stromal cells, and is currently appointed as a member of the ISCT (International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy) Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Committee.