2026 White Lecture

Join us in person for the 2026 White Lecture, an inspiring event where ideas come to life! Don’t miss out on this chance to connect, learn, and be part of something exciting. Whether you’re a fan of engaging talks or just curious, this event is for you. Come along and be ready for a memorable experience! The lecture will be an hour in duration with a reception immediately following.

This year's speaker is Dr. Denise Montell, Distinguished Professor at the University of California- Santa Barbara. Dr. Montell's lab looks for unusal cell behaviors by taking apart their mechanisms, and throwing light on their improtance using the latest technologies.

Topic/Abstract

RaceCAR-M, an emerging improvement in cancer immunotherapy

Cellular immunotherapies are revolutionizing cancer treatment. While remarkably effective – even curative – for some patients, these therapies are prohibitively expensive and not yet adequate for most. One way that our bodies fight cancer is that immune cells called macrophages (big eaters) recognize, engulf, and K*ll tumor cells. Based on fundamental cell biology research, we discovered how to improve this process of targeted cellular cannibalism. We found that hyperactivating just one protein called Rac enhances the ability of macrophages to engulf and destroy specific cancer cell targets including glioblastoma, melanoma, lymphoma, triple negative breast cancer, and more, when combined with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). We call this approach Rac-enhanced CAR-Macrophage (RaceCAR-M) therapy. I will describe how we discovered RaceCAR-M, its effects on tumor cells, and its potential therapeutic applications beyond oncology.

Parking

The nearest parking lots to the Science & Engineering Building (SEB) are the Cottage Grove Parking Garage and UNLV Lot O. Attendees should plan to arrive 15-20 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

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Host or Publisher UNLV School of Life Sciences