In my previous laboratory, we recently showed that TLK depletion caused replication stress and provoked innate immune responses through the production of extrachromosomal telomeric DNA fragments and activation of the cGAS-STING pathway. As this predicts that TLK depletion could enhance immunotherapy approaches in a similar manner as STING agonists, we are planning to carry out in vitro and in vivo experiments to test this hypothesis. Since joining the CCR 1 month ago, I have been devoted to equipping the laboratory, acquiring key reagents and completing mandatory training and paperwork needed to work in the lab. In addition, I have hired a postdoc that will enter the lab in a few months to start work on key aspects of this project.