David Teachey Laboratory

Led by David Teachey, MD, this research program focuses on two areas: acute lymphoblastic leukemia and immune dysregulation. The first area of interest centers on the development and translation of novel therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The lab targets a number of signaling pathways in ALL and also develops and tests novel immunotherapies. The lab often uses xenograft models to study the efficacy of agents and mechanism of action of those agents directly on leukemia cells obtained from children. The laboratory has developed xenografts from over 400 unique patients. This work has led to a number of national and international clinical trials. For many of these trials correlative studies are performed in my laboratory. Dr. Teachey holds a number of leadership roles in ALL in the Children's Oncology Group, is a member of the COG ALL disease steering committee, the leader of the T-ALL clinical trial and biology task force, and Vice Chair for ALL Biology.

The other major area of research in the lab centers on improved understanding of immune dysregulation disorders. Dr. Teachey studies a rare pediatric disorder called autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), using preclinical models to study disease biology and translate novel therapies to the clinic. He also studies cytokine release syndrome after immunotherapies and hemophagocytic syndromes. More recently, Dr. Teachey has studied immune dysregulation after infection with SARS-CoV-2 in children.

Description of Clinical Expertise

Clinical interests include pediatric leukemia and immune dysregulation with emphasis on acute lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphoproliferative disorders, cytokine storm syndromes, and hematopoietic stem cell transplant.