Our team

Our research team covers a broad range of research interests ranging from tumour immunology and immunotherapy to the development of innovative cancer treatments. 

Professor Andrew Beggs

Andrew Beggs is a Professor of Cancer Genetics & Surgery in the Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham. He is also the Deputy Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre and Theme Lead for Biomarkers and Liquid Biopsy.  

Professor Roy Bicknell

Roy Bicknell is a Professor of Functional Genomics and originally read chemistry at St. John's College, University of Oxford before studying for a doctorate in The William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford as an E.P.Abraham scholar. He then won a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship to study at Harvard Medical School. His original research interest was bacterial resistance to antibiotics but at Harvard moved to growth and angiogenic factors.

Professor Richard T. Bryan

Rik Bryan is a former clinical urologist, and now a full-time bladder cancer research academic. He is the Chief Investigator of the Bladder Cancer Prognosis Programme (BCPP), the SELENIB clinical trial, and POUT-T. He is the Director of the Bladder Cancer Research Centre (BCRC) in the Institute of Cancer & Genomic Sciences.

Professor Christopher Buckley

Chris Buckley is an Honorary Kennedy Professor of Translational Rheumatology at the Universities of Birmingham and Oxford. He is  Director of Clinical Research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Oxford. He leads the Arthritis Therapy Acceleration Programme (A-TAP) which aims to deliver “stratified pathology” in a range of immune mediated inflammatory diseases in order to choose the right disease indication for the right drug.

Dr Jorge Caamaňo 

Jorge Caamaño is Reader in Cellular Immunology. Jorge’s research focuses on secondary and tertiary lymphoid tissue development and function during immune responses and inflammation.

Dr Carmela De Santo

Dr Carmela De Santo is an expert on tumour immunosuppression, and in particular on myeloid derived suppressor cells.

Dr Sarah Dimeloe

Sarah Dimeloe is an Associate Professor working across the Institutes of Immunology and Immunotherapy (III), and Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR). Research in Sarah’s lab is focused on the metabolism of immune cells and how this underpins their role in health and disease.

Professor Sylvie Freeman

Sylvie Freeman is a Professor of ImmunoHaematology. Her research focus is on predicting treatment resistance in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia principally by monitoring residual disease (MRD).

Professor Mike Hawkins

Mike Hawkins is Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Childhood Cancer Survivors Studies. He has published over 150 papers in peer-reviewed scientific and clinical journals mostly relating to the long-term health and social consequences of being treated for cancer.

Dr Heather Long

Dr Heather Long is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy. She is the Institute Academic lead for Cancer Immunology. Heather leads an active research team in the fields of viral and cancer immunology, with a long-term focus on understanding T cell control of viruses and virus-associated cancers.

Dr Kendle Michelle Maslowski

Kendle is a Birmingham Fellow working across the Institutes of Immunology and Immunotherapy (III), and Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR). Research in Kendle’s lab is focussed on understanding innate immune pathways in intestinal epithelial cells and their roles in fighting infection and cancer development.

Professor Hisham Mehanna

Hisham is a head and neck and thyroid surgeon with clinical interests in recurrence in thyroid and parathyroid surgery. He has a keen interest in clinical and translational research, heading a research team of 20 researchers, and holding over £15million in research grants. His research has changed clinical practice across the world.

Professor Gary Middleton

Gary Middleton is Professor of Medical Oncology in the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, Honorary Consultant Oncologist at University Hospitals Birmingham and Director of the Birmingham Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC). He drives the translation of Birmingham cancer immunology and genomics science into novel clinical research, collaboratively delivered across the ECMC network. 

Dr Fiyaz Mohammed

Fiyaz is a Lecturer in Biomedical Structural Biology in the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham. His research focuses on investigating immune cell surface receptor/ligand interactions relevant to cancer using X-ray crystallography.

Professor Dion Morton

Dion is a Barling Professor of Surgery and Director of the West Midlands Genomic Medicine Centre (WMGMC) which is a partnership of 18 NHS acute Trusts across the region, working collaboratively to help to deliver the NHS England innovative 100,000 Genomes Project. It is one of 13 similar centres, paving the way for the future of medical science - personalised medicine.

Professor Paul Moss

Paul Moss is Professor of Haematology within the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Birmingham and is an international figure in translational human immunology and an NIHR Senior Investigator.

Professor Ye Htun Oo

Ye is a Professor of Autoimmune liver diseases and Translational Hepatology at the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham and Consultant Hepatologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he specialises in the management of autoimmune liver diseases, immune mediated liver injury and liver transplantation.

Dr Claire Shannon-Lowe

Claire is a tumour virologist with over 20 years of experience in virology research. At the University of Birmingham, her research has focussed upon Epstein Barr virus, the first human virus shown to be associated with cancer. She has a long-term interest in a group of rare T cell and natural killer cell cancers driven by EBV.

Dr Neil Steven

Neil is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Medical Oncology. He specialises in the design and execution of clinical trials of immune therapy for malignant disease. He has a particular scientific interest in the immunology of cancers carrying viruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV).

Dr Graham Taylor

Graham is a Senior Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow with an interest in viral and cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Graham's work has led to a therapeutic cancer vaccine that has undergone testing in several clinical trials. 

Professor Daniel A. Tennant

Daniel Tennant is a Professor of Biochemistry in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research (IMSR). He uses stable isotope tracers to investigate changes in the use of nutrients in conditions where oxygen is limiting (hypoxia), or in the presence of genetic mutations that induce a hypoxia-like response.

Professor Kai-Michael Toellner

Kai Toellner is an Honorary Professor of Adaptive Immunology at the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy and the Cancer and Immunology and Immunotherapy Centre Birmingham.

He studies how lymphocytes differentiate in response to pathogens or vaccines and how this leads to the generation of protective antibodies and long term immune memory.

Professor Benjamin Willcox

Ben Willcox is a Professor of Molecular Immunology and leads an active research group in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, with a focus on understanding immune receptor recognition.

Professor David Withers

David Withers is an Honorary Professor of Immune Regulation. His research is focused on understanding how memory CD4 T cell responses are generated and maintained, in particular the key cellular interactions that provide critical signals in this process.