Megan L Burger

Megan Burger is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental, and Cancer Biology with a secondary appointment in Hematology and Oncology. She holds a Ph.D. in T cell immunology from UC Berkeley and completed postdoctoral training in cancer immunology at MIT under Tyler Jacks.

• B.S., 2006, University of Washington
• Ph.D., 2014, University of California Berkeley
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015-2022, MIT

Her research investigates mechanisms regulating T cell immunity against cancer, focusing on antigen immunodominance, tumor microenvironment dynamics, and therapeutic remodeling of T cell responses. Using genetically engineered mouse models, flow cytometry, single-cell RNA-sequencing, and multiplexed imaging, her lab studies lung cancer progression and immunotherapy resistance.

Recent publications highlight her work on:

• Antigen dominance hierarchies in tumor-immune interactions
• Progenitor CD8 T cell phenotypes in lung cancer
• Role of dendritic cells in maintaining tumor-specific T cell reservoirs
• Development of spatial imaging tools (Visinity) for tumor analysis
• Translational cancer immunology via preclinical models

Scientific awards include:

• Lung Cancer Research Foundation early career award (2024)
• New Investigator Award, Medical Research Foundation of Oregon (2024)
• V Scholar award, V Foundation for Cancer Research (2023)

She is affiliated with the American Association for Cancer Research and Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, contributing to the understanding of tumor-immune dynamics and the development of improved cancer immunotherapies.