Congratulations to Dr. Joshua Waterfall, recipient of the Arceci Innovation Award

Head of the Integrative Functional Genomics of Cancer team (Inserm U1330 / Translational Research Department) at Institut Curie, Joshua Waterfall conducts interdisciplinary research combining physics, biology, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies to advance cancer immunotherapy, with a particular focus on pediatric forms. 

His team is especially interested in T cell receptors (TCRs), which help T lymphocytes recognize cancer cells, and in non-canonical antigens arising from the “dark transcriptome” — poorly characterized genomic regions that, due to transcriptional anomalies, produce proteins detectable by the immune system. He also studies gene regulatory networks, which control gene activity in immune cells.

To carry out his work, he combines next-generation sequencing approaches (RNAseq, TCRseq), multi-omic analyses, and complex experimental models such as tumor organoids. His team also develops artificial intelligence tools to analyze complex datasets and identify promising therapeutic targets.

Through this integrated strategy, Dr. Joshua Waterfall explores both the fundamental mechanisms of anti-tumor immunity and potential clinical applications.

At Institut Curie, the team is involved in major projects on pediatric tumors such as rhabdoid tumors (with Prof. Franck Bourdeaut) and Ewing sarcoma (with Dr. Olivier Delattre), where it analyzes tumor heterogeneity and identifies specific antigens. The team also takes part in pediatric immunity cohorts alongside Gustave Roussy and Institut Imagine, and collaborates with the CellAction[1] platform on experimental models for immunotherapy research.

With partners in Europe, North America, and South America, Dr. Joshua Waterfall co-develops experimental approaches to identify and test novel tumor antigens and contributes to the preclinical validation of therapies targeting immune responses.