University of California-San Diego · BiologyVarner Lab
Judith A Varner · La Jolla, California
Research Focus
Dr. Judith Varner's lab focuses on understanding how certain immune cells, particularly macrophages, contribute to the growth and spread of head and neck and lung cancers. By targeting specific pathways in these cells, the lab aims to improve the effectiveness of cancer therapies and identify new treatment strategies. Their work emphasizes the importance of overcoming resistance to existing cancer treatments and finding biomarkers that can help predict how patients will respond.
tumor immunologyhead and neck cancerlung cancermacrophage biologyPI3K signalingcancer therapy resistanceimmune checkpointsbiomarkerstranscriptomicstumor microenvironment
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the role of PI3Kgamma in immune suppression within tumors.
AIM 02Identify mechanisms of resistance to therapies targeting PI3Kgamma.
AIM 03Discover circulating biomarkers that indicate patient response to PI3Kgamma inhibitors.
AIM 04Assess how targeting PI3Kgamma in macrophages can enhance anti-tumor immunity in cancer models.
AIM 05Explore the molecular mechanisms by which PI3Kgamma regulates macrophage function in the tumor microenvironment.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsflow cytometryWestern blotRNA sequencingspatial transcriptomicspharmacological assaysimmunological assaysbiomarker discoveryanimal handling
Output against the department
Publications202top 32% of dept.333rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations12ktop 30% of dept.305th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.