Rate My Professor Cate Pe

Kristine Cate Pe is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, where she works in the McLellan Lab. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy in 2024 from the Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Prior to her postdoctoral position, Pe served as a Doctorate Student and Research Assistant at Chulalongkorn University, developing her expertise in cancer biology and immunotherapy.

Pe's research focuses on cellular therapies for cancer, particularly the engineering and optimization of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and the co-expansion of natural killer (NK) cells for enhanced immunotherapy efficacy. She has published several key papers in this area, including serving as corresponding author on 'Advances in cellular therapy for cancer: vector design and genome editing' in Immunology and Cell Biology (2026). Other significant publications are 'Preclinical comparison of non-signaling domain in CD19 CAR T cell with interleukin-7 receptor alpha signaling domain' (2026), 'Optimization of anti-TIM3 chimeric antigen receptor with CD8α spacer and TNFR-based costimulation for enhanced efficacy in AML therapy' (2024), 'Co-expansion of NK cells and CAR T cells for cancer immunotherapy' (2024, conference paper), 'Effects of Cannabidiol on the Functions of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells in Hematologic Malignancies' (2023), and 'Triple-negative breast cancer influences a mixed M1/M2 macrophage phenotype associated with tumor aggressiveness' (2022). Her studies address critical aspects such as nonsignaling domains in TIM3 CAR T cells for acute myeloid leukemia, cannabidiol's effects on CAR T cell function in hematologic malignancies, and macrophage polarization in triple-negative breast cancer. With a total of 67 citations, Pe demonstrates proficiency in techniques including flow cytometry, PCR, cell line culture, cloning, electrophoresis, and RNA/DNA isolation. Her contributions advance strategies to improve CAR T cell persistence and antitumor activity.