I take a keen interest in tumor immunology and aspire to gain a better understanding about the intricate cross-talk amongst various immune mediators in the tumor microenvironment. Currently, I study pancreatic cancer, which is a very aggressive malignancy with a dismal 5-year survival rate of 13% and poor response to standard therapeutic regimes like chemotherapy. Emerging treatments like immunotherapy has shown promising results in several solid tumors but has had limited success in pancreatic cancer due to a fibrotic and profoundly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. A major immunosuppressive element within the pancreatic tumor microenvironment is the dense, heterogenous stroma predominated by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), that can constitute up to 80% tumor volume. CAFs support tumor immune evasion by promoting the expansion of suppressive immune populations such as myeloid derived suppressor cells and tumor-associated macrophages, which in turn impede anti-tumor immune cell responses. My research strives to investigate mechanisms by which CAFs and immune cells talk to each other to co-opt host immunity for facilitating tumor survival.