Rate My Professor Alicja Copik

Professor Alicja Copik serves as Associate Professor of Medicine and Core Scientist in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. She directs the Copik Lab, focusing on immuno-oncology by engineering the body's natural killer (NK) cells to combat cancer using nanoparticle technology. Her research develops PM21 particles that deliver cytokines and signaling molecules, enabling rapid expansion, activation, and enhanced cytotoxicity of NK cells against tumors. This chemotherapy-free, injectable platform stimulates patients' own immune cells, overcoming limitations of current immunotherapies effective in only 15-30% of cases. Copik's approaches include genetic engineering to remove inhibitory brakes like PD-L1 and TIGIT on NK cells, improving anti-tumor efficacy in models of leukemia, lung cancer, metastatic breast cancer, and neuroblastoma.

Copik's innovations have progressed to clinical trials for adult leukemia treatment and collaborations with institutions like Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She received an $800,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health’s James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program in 2019 to advance NK cell combinations with PD-L1 inhibitors for lung cancer, and a $100,000 award from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation in 2024 for breast cancer therapies. Her PM21 particle technology founded CytoSen Therapeutics, acquired in a potentially record-breaking deal in 2019. Key publications encompass "Natural killer cells stimulated with PM21 particles expand and distribute in mice with potential for clinical applications" (Cytotherapy, 2016), "PD-L1 blockade enhances anti-tumor efficacy of NK cells" (OncoImmunology, 2018), "Oncolytic parainfluenza virus combines with NK cells to mediate systemic antitumor immunity" (Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 2021), and "PM21-particle stimulation augmented with cytokines enhances NK cell cytotoxicity" (Frontiers in Immunology, 2024). As a core scientist at Lake Nona, she oversees flow cytometry resources and graduate program faculty contributions, impacting NK cell research and clinical translation in medicine.