Scanning electronic micrograph of a cytolytic T lymphocyte (small cell) bound to its target cell (image taken from a study carried out at the Branch in 1977).

he Branch was established in 1975, in collaboration with the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the Policlinique Médicale Universitaire (PMU) and, later, the Centre pluridisciplinaire d'oncologie (CePO) located in the Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois (CHUV).

The laboratories are located at two sites : (a) the Center for Biomedical Research in Epalinges, which includes the ISREC and the Department of Biochemistry (UNIL), and (b) within the Hôpital Orthopédique on the CHUV campus in Lausanne, which includes the research laboratories of the CePO and the Department of Immunology and Allergy, in close proximity to the cancer clinic operated by the CePO.

In addition to its research activities, the Branch is involved in various teaching and training activities at the pre- and postgraduate levels for students in medicine and/or biology enrolled at the UNIL. In particular, the Branch participates in the International PhD Program that provides training and research opportunities to highly motivated graduate students in key areas of modern biology, at the Center for Biomedical Research in Epalinges.

Since May 1, 2001, the Branch is a member of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) on Molecular Oncology, a research program established by the Science and Research group from the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs under the leadership of the ISREC that aims to develop new translational projects in cancer research.

The Branch is involved in research in basic immunology and in immunology applied to cancer. The basic research program is centered on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of key events that occur during an immune response. Projects focus on the following areas : regulation of T and natural killer (NK) cell development, generation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-presented peptides, dynamics of T cell receptor-ligand interactions, and manipulation of cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. The clinical research program aims to apply recent progress in basic immunology to the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines. Current work focuses on the design of peptide-based vaccines that trigger efficient tumor-specific CTL responses as assessed in blood of immunized patients by antigen-specific quantitative and qualitative assays.