John Riches

Dr. John Riches is a Clinical Reader in Cancer Immuno-metabolism at Queen Mary University of London, leading a research group focused on metabolic alterations in B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. His work bridges immunotherapy, metabolism, and cell signaling to develop novel anti-metabolic therapies.

• Affiliation: Centre for Haemato-Oncology, Queen Mary University of London
• Roles: Course Director for the MSc Cancer & Clinical Oncology Programme; Member of NCRI Lymphoma Subgroup, UK CLL Forum Executive Committee, and Pan-London Haemato-oncology guidelines writing group

Research Interests: His studies explore how metabolic changes in normal B-cell activation are mirrored in low- and high-grade lymphomas (e.g., chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma) and how these insights can inform drug development. He also investigates complications of hematologic malignancies during pandemics, such as COVID-19 outcomes.

Major Funding: He has secured over £1 million in grants from institutions like Barts Charity, Blood Cancer UK, and the Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Trust, supporting projects on lymphoma metabolism and PhD studentships.

Scientific Awards:

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRCPath)

Publications & Trends: His research spans high-impact studies on MYC-driven lymphoma metabolic targets, TP53 abnormalities in CLL, integrin signaling modulation, and T-cell exhaustion in leukemias. Recent work emphasizes therapeutic targeting of metabolic pathways in germinal center lymphomas and integrin signaling in trisomy 12 CLL. Articles are published in journals like Blood, HemaSphere, and The Journal of Clinical Investigation.