Research output per year
Research output per year
I am a NIHR BRC funded postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Targeted Therapy Group led by Prof Tim Illidge.
I manage a small team of technicians and a Clinical Fellow within the group to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of radiotherapy (RT) in samples from cancer patients undergoing RT/ RT and immunotherapy combinations. We are particularly interested in identifying dynamic biomarkers of immune responses to RT in the tumour microenvironment and systemically.
Previously I have been working within the group looking at combining anti-CD20 mAbs with immuno-modulatory agents to enhance antibody effector mechanisms and the generation of anti-tumour immune responses.
Supervise PhD and undergraduate project students.
Member of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute Biosafety Committee.
Co-unit leader for the MRes Oncology Research Project component.
I undertook my PhD at the University of Leeds from 1999-2002 studing recombinant mycobacterial cancer vaccines and their interaction with dendritic cells and lymphocytes under the supervision of Dr Andrew Jackson and Professor Peter Selby. I then moved to the University of Manchester in 2002 where I began work as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Professor Robert Hawkins and Dr David Gilham. My work focused on the generation and testing of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells targeting CD19 for use in the treatment of B-cell malignancies. This work led to an ongoing Kay Kendall Leukaemia funded Phase I clinical trial testing CD19 CAR T-cells in B-cell lymphoma. In 2009 I joined the Targeted Therapy group led by Professor Tim Illidge and my research has focused on investigating the mechanisms of action of type I and type II anti-CD20 antibodies and improving their efficacy in B-cell malignancies through the use of immunomodulatory agents to enhance adaptive immune responses. In 2018 I took an NIHR BRC funded post to lead translational science within the Targeted Therapy Group to investigate dynamic immune biomarkers of response to radiotherapy in the tumour microenvironment and systemic circulation.
I am currently interested in investigating how radiotherapy affects the tumour immune microenvironment and whether understanding this will enable us to predict which Immuno Oncology (IO) agents would be best combined with radiotherapy for individual patients. We are using patient samples to look for predictive/prognostic and dynamic immune biomarkers of response to radiotherapy and radiotherapy/IO combinations.
My previous research interests lay in immunotherapy of B-cell malignancies. I have been particularly interested in ways to improve the generation of effective anti-tumour T-cell immune responses post anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy by combining anti CD20 antibodies with radiotherapy and/or immunomodulatory agents. I am also interested in adoptive cell therapy, in particular gene modified T-cells expressing CD19 specific chimeric antigen receptors.
Unit leader for the MRes Oncology Research Project components
MRes Oncology Tutorials
MBChB PEP assessment
Supervision of BSc Pathology and MBChB undergratuate research projects
Supervision of PhD students
British Society for Immunology
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
PhD Cancer Immunology (University of Leeds)
B.Sc (Hons) Biochemistry with Molecular and Cellular Biology (University of Birmingham)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Preprint/Working paper › Preprint
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review