Dr. V. Lokesh Battula received his Ph.D. from Justus Liebig University. He is currently working as a research faculty, Associate Professor, in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Battula’s research is focused on development of immune therapeutic tools for hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. He discovered ganglioside GD2 as a unique marker to identify cancer stem cells from primary breast tumors and cell lines. He is currently developing antibody based approaches for targeting GD2 in solid tumors. He is also interested in understanding the metabolic processes that regulate the expression of GD2 and the function of CSCs in primary tumors. His lab is working on antibody-based approaches for targeting immune checkpoint protein including B7-H3, CD47 and SIRPα in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. These proteins play a crucial role in the inhibition of immune cells in primary tumors. He is developing therapeutic antibodies against immune checkpoint proteins that could be used in the treatment of cancer.