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[posted 2/23/26 6:00 p.m.]
Larry Harshyne, PhD
Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Assistant Professor
Education
- PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002
Publications
- Extracellular Matrix–MYCAF Signatures Correlate with Resistance to Neoadjuvant aPD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibition with Durvalumab + Metformin in HPV+ HNSCC
- Tumor microenvironment governs the prognostic landscape of immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A computational model-guided analysis
- Response-Adaptive Surgical Timing in Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy Demonstrates Enhanced Pathologic Treatment Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
- The impact of biomaterial characteristics on macrophage phenotypes in tissue engineering: a review
- Predictive capacity of immune-related adverse events and cytokine profiling in neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor trials for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Research & Clinical Interests
My research focuses on the interactions between cancer and the immune system. Alcohol/tobacco use and human papilloma virus (HPV) infection are risk factors for developing Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Patients with HPV-driven cancer often have better prognoses. We use sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, flow cytometry, and multiplex Luminex assays to assess immune bias in the tumor, draining lymph nodes, and the circulation. Immune fitness, exhaustion, B cell activation, and small extracellular vesicles are some of parameters we track in these patients.
Some areas of focus within the lab include; 1) discordant clinical responses between the primary tumor and involved lymph nodes, 2) small extracellular vesicles and their role in modulating immune bias and exhaustion, and 3) HPV gene expression drives positive clinical responses to immunotherapy.