Peter Westcott

Dr. Peter Westcott is an Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he leads research on tumor-immune coevolution and immunotherapy resistance. His lab develops genetically engineered mouse models to dissect how cancers evade immune detection during progression and metastasis. Awarded the AACR Gertrude B. Elion Award and V Scholar Grant, Westcott's work has revealed mechanisms underlying poor T cell responses in mismatch-repair-deficient tumors.

His interdisciplinary approach combines CRISPR-based mutagenesis, single-cell omics, and spatial transcriptomics to identify novel therapeutic vulnerabilities. Recent studies focus on neutrophil extracellular traps in colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine transitions in prostate cancer.

Grants & Awards:

• ERC Advanced Grant (€2.5M) for climate-conflict research
• Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship
• NCI Transition Career Development Award

Westcott collaborates with clinical researchers to translate findings into biomarker-driven immunotherapies.