Dr. Todd Schell's research focuses on defining immune-based therapies for cancer. His interests include evaluating approaches to improve the persistence and function of tumor-reactive T lymphocytes within the tumor microenvironment. These studies have defined how tumor-reactive T-cells behave in distinct types of cancer including those that occur in the brain, pancreas, prostate and skin. Emphasis is placed on the use of adoptive T-cell therapies as well as defining how existing immune-based therapies currently used in cancer patients can be further improved.

Recent studies from the Schell laboratory highlight how antibody-based therapies targeting CD40 or PD-1 can be improved through combination with existing approaches such as radiation or common medications such as beta-blockers. Through collaborations with clinical investigators, translational studies focus on identification of patient characteristics that are associated with durable clinical responses to immune-based therapies, particularly for metastatic melanoma.

In addition to his research, Dr. Schell is the faculty director of Penn State College of Medicine's Flow Cytometry Core Facility.