We assisted Chris Garcia’s lab with their work with Interleukin 2 (IL-2), a protein which assists the immune system in fighting pathogens and cancer tumors. While injecting a patient with more IL-2 has been an effective cancer treatment, naturally occuring IL-2 has very serious side effects. We helped the Garcia lab to discover a form of IR-2 that was more “floppy”, which greatly increased its cancer-fighting potency. This means that it’s possible to administer theurapedic doses of it without causing the side effects. Stanford has applied for a patent, and several major pharmaceutical companies approached the Garcia lab about this discovery. Please see this paper and this article for more information.
