Ali Roghanian

Dr. Ali Roghanian is an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton's Centre for Cancer Immunology. He leads research on cancer immunotherapy, focusing on targeting immunoinhibitory receptors (e.g., LILRBs, FcγRIIB) and developing cellular therapies like CAR T and iNKT cells. His work combines preclinical models (PDX, humanized systems) with monoclonal antibodies to enhance anti-tumor immunity. He collaborates with biotechnology/pharmaceutical sectors and academic institutions to translate basic research into clinical therapies.

Education: PhD from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge and University of Southampton. Awarded a Blood Cancer UK Visiting Fellowship (2015) to conduct research at MIT's Koch Institute. Established his independent research group at Southampton's Centre for Cancer Immunology in 2018.

Research interests include overcoming therapy resistance via inhibitory receptor modulation and developing therapies for 'hard-to-treat' cancers. Current projects involve immunostimulatory antibodies, NK cell therapy optimization, and CAR T cell engineering. Awards include the Koch Institute Image Award (2016) and multiple Faculty of Medicine recognitions.

Teaching roles include co-leading the MSc Cancer Biology and Immunology module, supervising undergraduate and postgraduate research projects, and lecturing on biomedical technology and cellular pathology. External roles include chairing committees for the Irish and Norwegian Cancer Societies.

Labs/Teams: His group actively collaborates with industry partners, focusing on preclinical-to-clinical translation of immunotherapies. Key collaborations include Cancer Research UK-funded projects on FcγRIIB targeting and natural killer cell therapies.