Alan Serrels Research Group

Tumour Immune Environment

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A.Serrels
Dr Alan Serrels - Research Fellow

Research in a Nutshell

The focus of our lab is to understanding how cancer cells contribute to regulating the composition of the tumour immune environment to promote evasion of the anti-tumour immune response. In this context, we recently identified a new role for the adhesion linked kinase Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) in regulating chemokine and cytokine expression in cancer cells, resulting in elevated levels of intra-tumoural Tregs and suppression of the CD8 T-cell anti-tumour immune response. Our current aim is to understand in greater detail the extent of FAKs immuno-modulatory activity, and to identify optimal combinations with current / emerging immunotherapies for translation to the clinic.

 

Research Programme

 

People

 
Alan SerrelsPrincipal Investigator and Research Fellow
Catherine DavidsonECAT Fellow
Marta CanelPostdoc

 

Scientific Themes

Cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Adaptive Immunity, Immunomodulation, T cells, Tregs, Focal Adhesion Kinase

Technology Expertise

Genome editing, gene expression analysis, proteomics, flow cytometry, advanced intra-vital imaging