About me

Dr. Leen's research interests involve using cytotoxic T cells (CTL) for viral and malignant diseases. Dr. Leen is a co-principal investigator on a clinical trial assessing the safety of adoptively transferred donor-derived virus-specific CTL for the prophylaxis and treatment of adenoviral infections post allogeneic stem cell transplant. She is also developing and optimizing methods for generating tumor-specific CTL directed against the cancer testis antigens SSX2 and SSX4, which are expressed in a variety of tumors including Hodgkin Reed Sternberg cells. Therefore, the development of effective methods to reactivate and expand tumor-specific T cells directed against these antigens will lead to the development of immunotherapy protocols for the treatment of patients with relapsed EBV negative Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.