Abby E. Overacre, PhD
- Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology
- Member, Tumor Microenvironment Center
- Member, Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Program
Education & Training
- PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2018
- BS in Chemistry and Biology (cum laude), University of Oklahoma, 2012
- Postdoc: Tim Hand's laboratory 2018-2022
Research Interest Summary
Research Interests
Dr. Overacre is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of the Tumor Microenvironment Center (TMC) at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. She is a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Dale F. Frey Breakthrough Scientist awardee and a recipient of the NIAID New Innovators Award (DP2). Her laboratory is centered around understanding how the microbiota and immune system interact and contribute to anti-tumor immunity, immunotherapy, and immune-related adverse events. Specifically, they assess how external factors that shape the gut microbiome, including diet, impact T cell responses across cancer types in both preclinical models and patient samples. She is currently a member of the Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC) Early Career Scientist Committee as well as the co-chair of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Women’s Initiatives Taskforce (WIT).
Publications
Morder KM, Nguyen M, Wilfahrt DN, Dahmani ZL, Burr AB, Xie B, Morikone M, Nieves-Rosado H, Gunn WG, Hurd DE, Wang H, Mullett SJ, Bossong K, Gelhaus SL, Rajasundaram D, Kane LP, Delgoffe GM, Das J, Davar D, Overacre-Delgoffe AE. “Sucralose consumption ablates cancer immunotherapy response through microbiome disruption.” Cancer Discov. 2025 Jul 30. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0247. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40742298.
Overacre-Delgoffe AE, Bumgarner HA, Cillo AR, Burr AHP, Tometich JT, Tabib T, Lafyatis R, Vignali DAA, Hand TW. “Microbiota-specific T cells drive tertiary lymphoid structures and anti-tumor immunity in colorectal cancer.” Immunity. 2021. Dec 14. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.11.003.
Patra D, Dev G, Hand TW, Overacre-Delgoffe A. “Friends close, enemies closer: the complex role of the microbiome in antitumor immunity.” Curr Opin Immunol. 2025 Apr;93:102537. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2025.102537. Epub 2025 Feb 27. PMID: 40015179.